by Connie Oswald Stofko If you are aching to garden, check out exciting tropical plants called elephant ears and red banana plants, which can grow to impressive heights by the end of summer. The best part is that you don’t have to wait to get started — you can grow them inside now! Those are are some of the plants you’ll be able to buy next week at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses’ booth at Plantasia. Plantasia, Western New York’s premier…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I want to welcome all of our new subscribers who signed up for Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com. Maybe you heard about us from the email sent out by the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Or maybe you noticed something on social media or heard about us from friends. No matter how you heard about us, we’re glad you joined us! Now that you have subscribed, you’ll receive all of our great gardening tips, plus you are automatically entered…
If you want an easy plant to grow indoors, choose sansevieria, also known as snake plant, mother-in-law’s tongue, devil’s tongue or bowstring hemp. That’s the recommendation from Lisa Marie Gee in an article in this month’s edition of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. Sansevieria is a good houseplant for beginners because it will tolerate a wide range of growing conditions and some neglect. Sansevieria can do well in light ranging…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I want to find new subscribers for Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York, so I’m holding a drawing and offering great prizes for gardeners. Please help me spread the word by emailing this information to a friend. Or share it on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter or your favorite social media. Or pick up the phone and call a relative. Or mention it to a coworker. If you’ve been reading Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com for awhile, you’re my best ambassador. You can tell others about…
Due to climate change, the growing season in Western New York starts earlier than it did in the past. Are caterpillars and birds emerging earlier as well? Caterpillars Count!, a citizen science project, could use your help to find out if plants, insects and birds are all responding to ongoing changes in climate to the same degree. You can participate by counting arthropods such as caterpillars, beetles and spiders through Wild Spirit Education, located at 11511 Bixby Hill Rd., Delevan. You can also count…
We’ve had high winds this winter that have damaged some trees and shrubs across Western New York. Those trees and shrubs may need pruning. Here is information to get you started. Make safety a priority The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has good information about pruning damaged trees. The first thing they talk about is safety. Any work that requires a chain saw or can’t be performed from the ground should be done by a professional tree-care…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here is what I like most about the new book Buffalo-Style Gardens: Not only does it inspire you with photos of beautiful gardens, it also offers you great guidelines on how to use those ideas in your own landscape. If you have ever wondered how to make your yard look like those you see on garden walks, this book is for you! Buffalo-Style Gardens was written by Sally Cunningham, CNLP, a gardening celebrity who is a…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Our great prize drawing is back again! To enter, just subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. It’s free to subscribe! If you are already subscribed, you are already entered! Hey, I appreciate the support of my longtime readers! Three winners will be selected at random from our list of subscribers. Each will win a prize package worth more than $200! The deadline to enter is Tuesday, March 26. If you are one of the three…
“I have so many houseplants,” said Rachel Gottlieb of North Buffalo. “When I would divide and repot them, every year I had a bunch of plants without homes.” Gottlieb would try to give them to people she knew, but she wasn’t always successful. She wanted to find people who would be excited to get her leftover houseplants, so she went online to find a group. “That kind of group should have already existed, but it didn’t, so I made a…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The WNY Seed Library–the first free seed library of its kind in Western New York– has opened in Amherst. “There was no place in Western New York where you can get seeds for free,” said Brenda Snyder, who started working on the WNY Seed Library in June 2018. Food security is one of her goals. She feels that no one should go without food because they can’t afford it. The seed library aims to provide heirloom…