How can you make your sidewalk safe in icy weather while still protecting your garden? John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, shares some tips. First, instead of buying rock salt, look for products that are labelled plant or pet safe. These products use calcium chloride, which pose less risk of damaging your plants with soluble salts, Farfaglia said. Still, you shouldn’t overdo it, he said. Don’t spread the calcium chloride product heavily and don’t use…...
Grow tunnel lets you grow veggies during winter in Western New York
by Connie Oswald Stofko The temperature was in the teens this past weekend, but the vegetables in the grow tunnel at City Honors School in Buffalo are still going strong. In this video, Caesandra Seawell, garden manager, shows us how the grow tunnel can extend the gardening season, allowing us to grow vegetables in autumn and winter in Western New York. She describes how the grow tunnel was constructed, and it seems pretty easy. There have been some developments since…...
Snap your holiday photo with poinsettias at Mischler’s during Holiday in the Village
Looking for a festive backdrop for your holiday greeting card? Pose with a backdrop of hundreds of colorful poinsettias at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. This unique opportunity is part of the Holiday in the Village of Williamsville celebration presented by the Williamsville Business Association. The backdrop will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29 and 30, and Saturday, Dec. 7. In addition, beautiful classical and holiday music will be…...
Grants available to community garden groups & civic organizations
Your community garden group or civic organization could receive $5,000 in cash and garden tools through the Project Orange Thumb grant program from Fiskars, which makes garden tools. The application deadline is Dec. 31. Your group could even be the recipient of a complete garden makeover, in which the Project Orange Thumb team comes to your neighborhood and turns unused space into a beautiful community garden in just one day. To qualify, the group must be a not-for-profit organization, public…...
Small Business Saturday is Nov. 30; support our local shops
When someone hears about Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com for the first time, they often ask me how I can offer this magazine every week for free. The answer, of course, is that it is supported by local businesses who want to connect with gardeners. And that’s perfect for you because these businesses offer great products and services. Even better, they are located right here in Western New York! You can check out our Gardening Directory to get a glimpse of these great shopping…...
Did you rake leaves this weekend? Use them to protect your herb garden
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you’re like the folks in my neighborhood, you were raking up those dry autumn leaves during the beautiful Western New York weather this weekend. But I hope you didn’t set those leaves out to the curb just yet. Instead, use those leaves to prolong the productivity of your herb garden. Caesandra Seawell, garden manager at the garden at City Honors School in Buffalo, also known as Pelion Community Garden, shows us how they use a…...
Learn how to compost indoors using worms– & get worms!– in workshop at Reinstein Woods
by Connie Oswald Stofko Learn how to start composting indoors with red wriggler worms in a workshop at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30 at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve & Environmental Education Center, 93 Honorine Drive, Depew. The workshop is for both children and adults. You can get a starter kit, which includes worms. The kits are $4 for the public or $2 for Friends of Reinstein members. Please make reservations so they know how many starter kits to have on…...
‘Snowball’ hydrangea takes you from Thanksgiving into the new year
by Connie Oswald Stofko In a rare occurrence, the first day of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving this year. But there are so many holidays at this time of year that many of us will be celebrating more than one in the coming weeks. In addition to Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, there’s the winter solstice on Dec. 21, followed closely by Kwanzaa and New Year’s and Three Kings Day. Oh, and Christmas. When you are looking for a flower that will bridge…...
Botanical Gardens seeks help from Erie County residents to get funding passed
The majestic waterfall and peaceful koi pond at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens are visitor favorites, but the buildings in which they are housed are in desperate need of repair. Dave Swarts, president and CEO of the Botanical Gardens, is asking Erie County residents to contact their legislators for support of funding for the capital projects. These historically significant greenhouses, built at the turn of the last century, are in such poor condition that you can see the…...
How to care for Christmas cactus in Western New York
by Connie Oswald Stofko Jeff Wilson, who has a Christmas cactus that is probably more than 85 years old, shares some tips with us on how to care for these wonderful indoor plants. We met Wilson and Luis Martinez on Garden Walk Buffalo where they shared their ideas for shade gardening. Wilson’s oldest Christmas cactus is a plant they call “Grandma” because it came from Wilson’s maternal grandmother. However, it had originally been owned by her mother, Wilson’s great-grandmother. Grandma…...