Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Save yourself some cleanup: Line kitchen scrap container with shredded paper & add to compost

by Connie Oswald Stofko A lot us of keep a container in the kitchen so we can collect potato peels, orange rinds, tea bags and other scraps for our compost pile. I use an old plastic container that has a cracked lid. Your container might be as simple as a used coffee can. You don’t need anything fancy. Here’s my big confession: I don’t like to wash out the container. I mean, you’re basically using it to collect garbage. It’s…...

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Nov 4, 2014

tar spot on maple leaves in Western New York 2014

Tar spot affects maple leaves in WNY; is there anything you can do about it?

by Connie Oswald Stofko You may have noticed black circles on the maple leaves in your neighborhood. That’s called tar spot because it looks like drops of tar were dripped onto the leaves. Tar spot is caused by a fungus and attacks mostly sugar maples, but can affect other maples as well, said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener coordinator for the Erie County Cornell Cooperative Extension. There isn’t a lot you can do about tar spot, but the disease isn’t as…...

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Oct 28, 2014

Be a citizen scientist in Western New York: Help track squirrels & birds, take a survey & more

You don’t have to have a college degree to help advance scientific learning in plant and nature topics. You can help scientists collect data on a number of local and national projects. Here are a few projects that might interest you. __________ Let scientists know where squirrels are & where they aren’t Take a look around your home, office, school or other location and, whether you see squirrels or not, enter your observations at the Project Squirrel website. Scientists want…...

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Oct 28, 2014

Name the next corpse flower at the Botanical Gardens & more updates

by Connie Oswald Stofko You can vote on your favorite name for the new corpse flower, which is currently is its leaf stage at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens received thousands of suggestions and whittled them down to five: Cinder-Smella, Ichabod, Gomez, Seymorgue and Morticia. (I won’t tell you which name I voted for.) I talked today to Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Botanical Gardens, and he said the leaf is now about…...

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Oct 28, 2014

Make miniature garden with holiday theme for yourself or as a gift at Mischler’s

Make a miniature garden with a holiday theme during hands-on workshops at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. These tabletop gardens make great gifts. They can serve as a centerpiece at a holiday party, brighten up a desk or reception area in an office or add cheer to a nursing home. The workshops will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8 at Mischler’s. Each workshop will last about two hours. The first half of…...

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Oct 28, 2014

5 tips to make the most of autumn leaves in your garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko Do you know that there are people who essentially throw their leaves away? They rake them out to the curb and wait for someone to haul them away. I find that amazing because those autumn leaves are a valuable commodity for your garden– yet they’re free! Here are five tips on making the most of autumn leaves. Tip #1: Use leaves as mulch around your perennials to help them survive the winter. If we have a…...

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Oct 21, 2014

Corpse flower updates: Morty’s ‘sibling’ leafed out & is on display; third plant is budding

by Connie Oswald Stofko Remember Morty the corpse flower that bloomed last summer at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens? Well, it has siblings. In July, the Botanical Gardens purchased three corms (bulbs) of the plant Amorphophallus titanum. The plant is commonly called a corpse flower because, when in bloom, it emits a smell like garbage or rotting flesh. One of the corms, dubbed Morty, bloomed this summer. The second corm has sent up a single leaf that, as…...

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Oct 21, 2014

Garden Walk Buffalo accepting applications for grants; deadline is Feb. 17

Applications for Marvin Lunenfeld Beautification Grants are now available from Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the nation. The grants, named for Marvin Lunenfeld, Garden Walk Buffalo’s founder, have helped fund dozens of garden beautification projects across the West Side of Buffalo for a total of more than $50,000 in the last several years. The 2015 grant application can be found here. Completed applications are due Feb. 17, 2015 with funding awards announced in early spring 2015. Garden…...

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Oct 21, 2014

Tell your gardening friends– It’s free to subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com!

by Connie Oswald Stofko There are people who have been reading Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com for years and didn’t know they could subscribe! And it’s free! Yes, you can just visit our website without subscribing, but when you subscribe, you get notified every time new content is posted. That way, you don’t miss a thing! You’ll get great gardening tips that really work in Western New York, see full-color photos and videos, and have the opportunity to peruse the most comprehensive list of…...

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Oct 21, 2014

Kate Johnson at Dairy Ag Festival Springville NY

Got clay? Don’t want to dig? Want a new bed over lawn? Try lasagna gardening in autumn

by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s autumn, and here’s an outside project you can do today: create a lasagna garden. Lasagna gardening is a method where you apply material to your garden bed in layers, like in a lasagna. Lasagna gardening has several advantages: You don’t have to till or dig your garden bed. The technique works with clay or other poor soil. You can create a new bed over lawn. It’s not labor intensive. It’s organic. You don’t have to…...

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Oct 14, 2014