You can rent a plot in the community garden at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. You don’t have to live in Hamburg; anyone can rent a plot. Lockwood’s has set aside a portion of its farmland for the community garden. It has divided the garden into parcels 4 feet wide by 50 feet long; the square footage is the size of an average home vegetable garden. There are also smaller parcels available, which are 4 feet wide by 23 feet long…....
If you want to share your garden on Garden Walk Buffalo, apply soon– the deadline is May 15. You can apply online or download an application and mail it in. Garden Walk Buffalo takes place on the West Side of Buffalo. Your garden must be within the boundaries of the walk: the Niagara River to Main Street and Canalside to the Scajaquada Expressway. Anyone within those boundaries can show their garden. There is no judging of gardens; Garden Walk Buffalo isn’t a contest. Gardens range…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko The moonflower (Oenothera acaulis, also known as a mountain dandelion) is an amazing plant. The light yellow flowers open in the evening, and they open so fast you can watch it happen in real time. “They open before your very eyes like time-lapse photography,” said Mark Yadon, vice president at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses. “They spin open— they open that fast.” I don’t have a photo, but you can see a video here. Yadon said some people place bets…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko As I sat outside yesterday in shorts and bare feet, it felt as if summer was here to stay. But that’s how it feels every spring in Western New York, and every year our spring weather takes us on a roller coaster ride. The high was in the 70s yesterday, yet you know we’re still going to get freezing temperatures before summer really arrives. Some years we’ve had flakes of snow flying around in the air in May. I know…...
Two kids’ workshops on making a fairy garden as well as a display of kids’ fairy and gnome houses will be highlights of the Fairy and Gnome Festival to be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. The festival is included with admission. Activities for children include a special scavenger hunt, story time and nature walks. If you wear a costume, you get $1 off admission. The price is $9…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23 in the main office at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Elmwood Ave., Kenmore. This will be the first in a new series of talks at the cemetery called Live Your Legacy Workshops. All programs are free and open to the public. I will share some of the best tips I discovered as I interviewed home gardeners and gardening experts. I have discovered…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko People call it the “hellstrip.” It’s that section between the sidewalk and street where people generally grow nothing but grass. It’s where the plows deposit the heavy, salty snow from the street. Garbage cans get tossed there. Dogs do their business there. What in the world could you grow there? Flowers and herbs. That’s what Elaine Clutterbuck of Buffalo grows in the three-season garden she has established in her hellstrip. This past summer her garden was…...
Because the first one filled up so fast, Lockwood’s Greenhouses is holding another seminar on pruning at 1 p.m. this Saturday, April 11 at Lockwood’s, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. The session will be taught by gardening expert Sally Cunningham. It will focus on damage from the Snowvember Storm, but will also cover common problems in the landscape caused by severe cold and animals grazing on your garden plants. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period. You can even bring photos of particular shrubs…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Please help me congratulate the three lucky winners in our recent drawing held by Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com. They are: Michelle Jusiak of Orchard Park Amy Myers of Cheektowaga Roxann MacKay Burton of Ridgeway, Ontario The names were drawn at random on Wednesday. Everyone who was subscribed to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com by March 31 was entered into the drawing. I’m happy to have so many new subscribers, and I love my loyal readers, too! Each winner receives all of these prizes: A one-year family…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at the meeting of the East Aurora Garden Club on Monday, April 13 at St. Mathias Episcopal Church, 374 Main St., East Aurora. Luncheon is at noon, followed by a short business meeting, with the presentation at 1 p.m. 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,…...