by Connie Oswald Stofko Learn more about the birds that visit your garden with the new website Birds on the Niagara Frontier. It is designed to promote interest in birding and wildlife conservation in Western New York and Southern Ontario. The site was created by Gerry Rising, retired University at Buffalo math professor who has been bird watching for more than 80 years, and Michael Noonan, a retired Canisius College professor of Animal Behavior who has produced a dozen films that…
The City of Buffalo and Erie County are the newest municipalities in Western New York to be become Certified Climate Smart Communities. They were recognized for the steps they have taken in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience. The Climate Smart Community program provides guidance and technical support to local governments to take locally driven climate action. What Buffalo, Erie County accomplished Buffalo’s Green Code is an example of climate-smart land use. The city has installed electric vehicle…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are updates on three diseases and one pest: downy mildew on impatiens, tar spot on maple leaves, late blight on tomatoes and potatoes, and the brown marmorated stink bug. Maybe you’ve been dealing with these issues for years, or you might be noticing one of these for the first time. John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, gives us updates. Impatiens There’s good news and bad news about impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)….
by Connie Oswald Stofko Thanks so much to all of you who responded to my survey. You let me know what you liked and what you didn’t like. It was all helpful! If you haven’t responded to my survey, I would appreciate if you would. It’s only eight questions long. You can see it here. Thanks for all your help!…
The Mum Exhibit at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens is taking a spooky turn this year with a MUMster Mash theme. There will be a mad scientist’s lab, a spooky cemetery, ghosts, mummies and, of course, thousands of mums. The 119th Mum Exhibit will be held from Saturday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., South Buffalo. Hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. The Mum Exhibit is included with Botanical Gardens…
by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s officially autumn on the calendar, but there are still gardening things to do. Here are some ideas we have shared in past articles. Even if they’re not new to you, it’s always good to get a reminder. Tasks you can do in your autumn garden: Harvest, weed, water & enjoy Debug your houseplants before bringing them inside Test soil and amend it if necessary Enjoy waves of spring color in a single spot or even…
We talk about water a lot in this magazine. We need it to help our plants grow. We’re careful in our gardening practices so we can keep our waterways clean. The many ways that water is used will be demonstrated in a watercolor exhibit by Dan Meyer and Jane Stoddard at Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village, 3755 Tonawanda Creek Rd., Amherst. A preview showing will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. The watercolors are available for purchase….
by Connie Oswald Stofko I appreciate my readers, and I know you will be honest with me. I love producing Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com each week, and I need some direction on how to keep my business thriving. Please help me out by answering my quick, eight-question survey. If you subscribe, please open the email you received this week and go to the survey from there. If you don’t subscribe, you can find the survey here. Thanks for your support!…
After reading a previous article about roses, a reader asked a follow-up question: “Hello! I was always told to cut back rose bushes in the fall. That’s wrong?” Here is the response from Bonnie Vitale, president of the Western New York Rose Society: Save the hard pruning for spring. In the fall, cut off any broken stems. Some gardeners like to cut their rose bushes down to a height of 18-24 inches in the fall to prevent wind and snow…
by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s easy to designate a patch of plants– there are many kinds of plant markers you can buy or make. But what if you want to remember where one particular plant is in that bunch? I have columbine with yellow flowers as well as columbine with flowers that are yellow with a bit of red in them. I’d like to save the seeds from the yellow-with-red variety. Of course, now that the seeds have developed, the…