Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Pool owners: Help save trees from the invasive Asian longhorned beetle

Pool owners can participate in the third annual Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) Swimming Pool Survey now through Aug. 29 to help detect these exotic, invasive beetles before they cause serious damage to our forests and street trees. The survey is held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) at this time of year when ALBs are expected to become adults, emerge from the trees they are infesting and become active outside those trees. ALBs are originally from…...

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Jul 29, 2014

Slow-growing shrubs create low-maintenance garden; backyard is full of perennials

by Connie Oswald Stofko Barb Ciesla and her husband Henry had a front yard with a line of yew bushes straight across the front. She wanted something more interesting and decided to redo the entire front. “I’m 60 years old and I don’t want to do it all again,” Ciesla said. “I don’t want to have to redo it in five years because things got too big. I wanted things that grow very slowly.” She spent the entire winter researching…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Lighting adds ambiance to Moroccan-themed garden in Tonawanda

by Connie Oswald Stofko Great lighting set the mood for a Moroccan-themed garden during the nighttime garden walk of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour held this past weekend. The event also included a daytime garden walk. Richard Levy of 122 Pickford Ave., Tonawanda, chose a Morrocan theme because his father’s family is from that part of the world. His grandparents were born in Istanbul. At left, a gazebo was draped with rich-looking colorful fabrics. He looked at 100 or 200 photos…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Help a reader: Can you prolong the bloom of a spiderwort?

by Connie Oswald Stofko I received this question from a reader: I have several spiderwort (transcandentia) in a variety of colors. I love the plants, however, their bloom only lasts until late afternoon, then they close up. Is there anything I can do to extend their bloom time or is this just typical of the plant? Also, can they be cut back to bring another full blooming young plant at a certain time during the summer? Thanks, Dawn Brennan I…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Get 45 gardening tips in 45 minutes at Elderwood in West Seneca

by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at 7 p.m. Thursday July 24 at Elderwood Assisted Living at West Seneca, 580 Orchard Park Rd., West Seneca. Like all the events we list on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, this event is open to the public. There is limited seating, so please RSVP to 677-4242. I’ll share some of the best tips I discovered as I interviewed home gardeners and gardening experts for the online gardening magazine for Western…...

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Jul 22, 2014

South Buffalo gardener uses simple fence to keep peace with her puppy

by Connie Oswald Stofko Shiloh, not quite two years old, is still a puppy. She’s well behaved, but she has one puppy behavior that could be maddening to a gardener. She likes to dig holes and bury bones– in the garden! Her owner, Justine Tutuska, came up with a creative way to keep her garden beds intact. She made simple fences by tying together bamboo sticks. She sets these across the garden beds to keep Shiloh out. You can see…...

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Jul 15, 2014

lush gardens and paths in West Seneca NY backyard

West Seneca gardener creates a getaway in her own backyard

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It’s serene,” said Mary Anne Bach as she gazed around her backyard. “I love coming here.” Sometimes if friends ask her if she wants to go out, her real answer is no. She’d rather spend her time off in her garden. You’ll be able to see why she enjoys her landscape so much when you visit the home she shares with her husband Jim at 52 Tim Tam Terrace during the West Seneca Tour of Gardens…...

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Jul 15, 2014

title for video on Snyder-CleveHill Garden View

Clay, tree roots & shade: Get tips in this video

by Connie Oswald Stofko I love Western New York gardeners. I tried waiting out the rain Sunday, but it just kept getting worse, so around 1 p.m. I made my way out to the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View, a garden walk that covers parts of Amherst and Cheektowaga. I stopped at the home of Terrie and Jerry Newman at 194 Lamarck Dr. The description on the map said they had struggled with clay soil, something that a lot of Western New…...

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Jul 14, 2014

Check out Bragging Rights, Western New York’s TV trivia show

by Connie Oswald Stofko I had a great time being a contestant on Bragging Rights, the local trivia quiz show on WBBZ-TV. The show is recorded at the WBBZ studio in Eastern Hills Mall (near Macy’s), 4545 Transit Rd., Williamsville. You can be in the studio audience— I had the opportunity to do that, too, and it’s great fun. They show the studio audience during the opening sequence, so you could be on TV, too! Bragging Rights airs at 6:30…...

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Jul 14, 2014

Plant food now: broccoli & other veggies from seed for fall as well as fruit trees & bushes

by Connie Oswald Stofko If your garden was wet or you were busy and didn’t get any food plants in your garden this spring, don’t fret. It’s not too late. You can plant vegetables, including broccoli, from seed. You can also plant fruit trees and bushes. Vegetables Now is the time to plant seeds for many vegetables that you can harvest in fall. In addition to broccoli, seeds that you can sow now include lima beans, coriander, dill, collards and…...

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Jul 8, 2014