When you’re looking for a little something for someone on your Christmas list, check out the mini-mini succulent gardens at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. You can give these adorable dish gardens as a token of appreciation for your child’s teacher or for the neighbor who shovels your sidewalk. Because they’re small, they can easily fit on the window sill of someone in a nursing home. And succulents are super easy to care for, so even…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a sneak peek at the new look for the Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com website. This is just a picture to give you an idea of what it will look like, but by the time I resume publishing Jan. 19, the new look will be operational and have more new articles for you to enjoy. The new look will be sleeker and less cluttered, so you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for more easily. I’m thrilled that…...
by Dana Santasiero There’s a new bug in Western New York and there are two main things you need to know about it. First, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is called a stink bug because when you step on it, it smells. Second, it could eat the plants in your garden. The good news is even though it is big and ugly, it won’t hurt you. You might find it in your house over the winter but it’ll just be…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a delightful holiday decoration that I hadn’t seen before: doorknob baskets. As the name suggests, they’re small woven baskets that you can hang as a decoration on a doorknob. They’re filled with greens grown at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. “You can leave one on your neighbor’s door as a surprise,” said Hilary McHale, assistant manager at Lockwood’s. “It’s a little bit of holiday cheer.” While you could hang them on an inside door,…...
PLANT WNY, the trade association for the professional landscape and nursery trades, honored the recipients of the Landscape Awards Program as well as Sally Cunningham as person of the year at their annual Harvest Dinner in November. Landscape Awards The Landscape Award recipients are: Residential Small Category: Dore Landscape Associates, Inc. (Lockport) Residential Large Category: Dore Landscape Associates, Inc. (Lockport) Hardscapes Small Category: Tripi’s Landscaping, LLC (Buffalo) Hardscapes Large Category: Chevalier Outdoor Living (Springville) Mature Landscape Category: Menne Landscape &…...
Submissions of original artwork for use on posters for the 2016 Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk are being sought. The poster art contest is being held by the University Heights Arts Association (UHAA), which will jury the competition. It is free to enter your artwork and a prize of $100 will be awarded for first place. Additional prizes will be awarded to the second and third place winners. Anyone may enter. The theme for this year’s competition is “The Beauty in…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Ray Crawley and his family usually take their Christmas tree down around Jan. 1, but last year the tree was looking so good, they left it up until almost February. “I guess it’s like a flower arrangement,” Crawley said. Since it stayed fresh, they decided to enjoy it a little longer. Crawley is store manager at the family-owned Goodman’s Farm Market, 2227 Cayuga Drive Extension, Niagara Falls. Here’s how he kept his Christmas tree fresh so…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s something special about chatting face to face with other gardeners. It’s not the same experience if you just read another gardener’s tweet or Facebook post. That’s why you should consider joining a gardening organization, or if you are already part of one, encourage others to join, says Nikki Schmith, incoming president of the national daylily group called the American Hemerocallis Society. She will speak on “The Collective Experience” at the meeting of the Buffalo Area…...
The Audubon Nature Center calendar “Small Wonders” can make a wonderful gift for this Christmas. Jeff Tome, the senior naturalist at the nature center and the leader in the creation of the calendar, noted that there is a lot happening outside that most people never notice. “The calendar is dedicated to the thousands of children whose curiosity and enthusiasm has forced us to stop and take a closer look at the world,” Tome said, “often finding amazingly beautiful and fascinating…...
A number of garden-related grants are available. Hurry; some of the deadlines are coming up fast. Planting fruit trees Grants for planting fruit trees are available for nonprofit organizations, public or nonprofit schools, or government entities from the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. The grant recipients must 1) own the planting site (or have long-term arrangements to remain at the planting site), 2) be committed to caring for the trees in perpetuity, 3) have a source of irrigation nearby, 4) and…...