by Connie Oswald Stofko If you register by noon Wednesday, Sept. 3 for any class at this weekend’s Fall Garden Fair at Lockwood’s, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Lockwood’s gift certificate. By registering early, you’ll make sure you reserve a spot for yourself in your favorite class or classes. You’ll also be helping out the Lockwood’s staff so they can plan how many chairs they will need and how many handouts to prepare. Your…
In order to help protect our waterways, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is reminding gardeners not to use lawn fertilizers that contain phosphorus. The 2012 Dishwasher Detergent and Nutrient Runoff Law prohibits the use of phosphorus fertilizers unless a new lawn is being established or a soil test shows that the lawn does not have enough phosphorus. “Too much phosphorus is harmful to the state’s water resources,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Rain and snow runoff…...
If you love gardening and botany, consider sharing your passion with others by volunteering as a docent at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Docents work with people of all ages. They lead tours of the Botanical Gardens for a variety of groups year round, teach hands-on programs to school-aged children and scout groups, facilitate activities in the Wegmans’ Family Garden, answer visitor questions during special plant exhibits and events and assist staff in…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Winter is too long,” said David Clark, horticulturist and national garden speaker.”With our Western New York winters, it’s nice to have something pop up in mid- to late winter.” That’s why he recommends planting spring bulbs– The first ones can come up when there’s still snow on the ground. “I like to have a big show in spring,” Clark said. “And if you plan it correctly, you can have flowers from mid-winter through July when you…...
Even if you visited Morty the corpse flower at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens before it opened and while it was in bloom, it is hard to appreciate how quickly the flower grew. You can get a better idea of the tremendous growth of this rare plant by watching a time-lapse video created by the Botanical Gardens, which you can see below. The time-lapse video starts at the end of July when Morty was placed on display and…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Steam engines may be a relic of a bygone era, but they were powerful. That’s the lesson that kids can learn when dozens of them team up against a steam-powered tractor in a sneaker pull, one of the attractions held every year at the rally of the Western New York Gas and Steam Engine Association. The association aims to preserve and display vintage farming equipment and to educate the public. The rally will be held from…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko The gardening season is still under way in Western New York. You can plant flowering perennials, cool-weather vegetables and fruit trees and shrubs now. Perennials You can safely plant perennials now through mid-September, said Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. Some landscapers and other gardening folks may say you can plant perennials well into October, he said, but he doesn’t recommend waiting that long because you want to…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Has Morty the corpse flower been pollinated? Will it bear fruit? To get a better look at what is happening inside, horticulturists at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens actually cut a hole in the flower. You can take a look inside Morty, too. Morty will continue to be on display 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, probably through the end of August, at the Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. No, the flower…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you’re having problems with your fruit this year, it might be due to an invasive fruit fly called the spotted wing drosophila. The fruit fly is in Western New York. Cornell Cooperative Extension representatives in Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties told me it has been found those counties, and it has been found in other counties as well. One of the biggest tell-tale signs of damage from the spotted wing drosophila is beautiful looking fruit…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko We gardeners in Western New York are spoiled. During the height of the National Garden Festival, we can visit beautiful gardens– many, many beautiful gardens– four days a week. It’s been less than two weeks since the last event of the National Garden Festival ended, but many of us miss it already. There are still lovely gardens to visit in Western New York. One of them is the Joan and Victor Fuzak Memorial Gardens at the…