You can call in your gardening and landscape questions during a radio show called “Gardener’s Corner” sponsored by PLANT WNY’s foundation. “Gardener’s Corner” will be part of the Home Improvement Hour on WBEN 930 AM and will air from 11:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 5, 12, 19 and 26. Chris Zeisz, a lifetime CNLP (certified nursery and landscape professional) and owner of Snyder Ridge Landscaping & Garden Center, will be the host of the show. Guests each week will…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at the meeting of the Lancaster Garden Club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 in St. John’s Lutheran Church Hall, 55 Pleasant Ave., Lancaster. In my presentation, I’ll share some of the best tips I discovered as I have interviewed home gardeners and gardening experts in the past several years for Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. I have to average one tip per…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Margaret Raupp, coordinator of Open Gardens, brought to my attention a couple plant problems that she noticed around Western New York this summer. Last week we talked about the lily leaf beetle, which is damaging lilies. This week we’ll discuss aster yellows disease, which affects coneflowers and causes the blossom to be deformed. “I saw it everywhere and most gardeners were not aware of it,” Raupp said. Bizarre green tufts growing out of the flower are…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you’re looking for a communications internship, get one at a business that is looking ahead, not stuck in the past. When I started Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com five years ago, I knew that being online was the only way to go. Paper and printing is expensive. You want color photos? That costs more. Then those pieces of paper have to be delivered, which is an added expense. It’s no wonder that subscriptions to print media have been declining…...
Have you ever considered making the leap from gardening to farming? The Northeast Beginning Farmers Project at Cornell University has created a series of online courses for those thinking of becoming a farmer as well as for beginning farmers. The interactive online courses run from five to seven weeks. Courses start in October, November, January and February. See the schedule here. Courses address aspects of growing as well as the business end of farming. Courses are $200 each. The first course…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Margaret Raupp, coordinator of Open Gardens, alerted me to a couple of problems with disease and pests that she noticed while touring the gardens. We’ll talk about the first one, lily leaf beetle, today. Raupp said that when she visited an Open Garden in Lockport, the garden of John Taylor and Mary Brennan-Taylor, almost all of the Asiatic and Oriental lilies were lost to the lily leaf beetle, an invasive species that’s fairly new to Western…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A new, larger events space. A new admissions area. A new cafe. A new gift shop. How can the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens create those areas, possibly constructing new buildings, without disturbing the domed buildings that are architectural and historical gems? “And we have to do something with the garage and those greenhouses that obstruct the view of one of the Olmsted Parks,” said David J. Swarts, president and CEO of the Botanical Gardens,…...
There’s still time to plant perennials, and you can get bargains on beautiful, healthy perennials at the end-of-season tent sale to be held from Friday, Aug. 21 through Saturday, Aug. 29 at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. August is Perennial Month at Mischler’s, and during the tent sale all perennials in 3 ½-inch pots will be buy one get one free. Select perennials…...
Amazing nature shots from around the world were entered in the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center’s 2015 Nature Photography Contest. All winners received a $100 prize. You can see the winning photos here. The photographs are also on exhibit at the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center, 1600 Riverside Rd., one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, NY, and Warren, PA. The building, with its collection of live animals, interactive exhibits and Blue Heron Gift Shop, is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a question from a reader: “I’m considering removing my Stella de Oro daylilies (I have seven in a very sunny location) since they are no longer rewarding me with blooms. They are a great deal of work and not much reward. “Wondering what perennial you would recommend for full sun?” Linda Liberi, Williamsville This is the kind of question I think would benefit from a wide range of opinions. What would you suggest for Linda?…...