I walked into my basement this weekend and was surprised to see that my amaryllis bulbs were leafing out. I shouldn’t have been surprised; this is precisely what they were supposed to do. I am forcing them to bloom indoors so I can enjoy gorgeous flowers in the middle of winter. But out of sight, out of mind. I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice their activity until the leaves were quite long and I had a flower bud. If…...
The birthday flower for January is the carnation, which is one of my favorite flowers. It has everything you could want in a flower– a beautiful shape, a wide variety of colors and a delightful fragrance. But some people look down on the magnificent carnation. “The carnation got a bad reputation,” said Maggie Wittmer, floral designer at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses in Williamsville. “There’s no reason to hate the carnation. That’s a bum rap.” In addition to being beautiful, the…...
For New Year’s: Poinsettias painted with confetti pattern You can add a little zest to your New Year’s celebration with a poinsettia hand-painted with a confetti pattern. The poinsettias are painted by Steve Lockwood, owner of Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg. No two plants are alike. Special paint is used that doesn’t hurt the plant, explained Teresa Buchanan, general manager at Lockwood’s. Glitter adds a little sparkle. At right is a poinsettia painted in red, white and blue. __________…
Back in the 1930s, it was found that some Alpine plants grew well in tufa, a porous rock formed when water seeps through limestone. Tufa was scarce and expensive, so a few gardeners worked to find an inexpensive and accessible alternative. The product they came up with is called hypertufa. Hypertufa is similar to concrete, but lighter and more porous. You can use it to make planters in whatever size or shape you need. Anne Brierley of the Parkside area…...
An “Upstairs, Downstairs” theme has been used by the Youngstown Garden Club to decorate Old Fort Niagara for the holidays. The decorations are woodsy and rustic to fit in with the architecture of the building known as the French Castle, built in 1726. The ornaments used in the officers’ areas are are fancier, embellished with satin ribbons and silver cording. You can see the decorations through Monday, Dec. 31. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. (The fort is…
When Carol Franklin is outside watering her garden on Prospect Avenue in Buffalo, people will stop and tell her what a good job she’s doing. They don’t expect to find city areas to look as good as this, she explained, but you can have a great garden wherever you are. “Bloom where you are planted,” Franklin said. I visited Franklin this July during Garden Walk Buffalo. Her welcoming front garden wraps around the side of the house and can be…...
Wonderful bookmarks, pictures and plaques using dried materials were on display this spring at the National Garden Clubs convention held right here in Buffalo. The convention offered so much to write about, I had to spread out the articles. In previous installments, you can get ideas for miniature flower arrangements; you can watch Ricardo Costa, internationally renowned floral designer from Brazil, create a flower arrangement, and you can see exhibits from the flower show. I saved the topic of dried…...
Seeds make great stocking stuffers Seeds are already available at some garden centers including Arbodale Nurseries & Landscaping, 480 Dodge Road, Getzville. Slip a packet into a Christmas card for a gardening friend, or use them as a stocking stuffer. Get some seeds for yourself, too. As soon as the holidays are over, I’m always aching to get into the garden, but there’s not much to do when the ground is frozen. That’s why I love this tip on how…...
People who want to buy a gift for a gardener often don’t know what to get. They see an item that they think might be nice, but then wonder if it’s really useful or whether the gardener already has it. Today we’re going to give you five suggestions for gifts that gardeners will love. (If you are a gardener, feel free to drop a few hints by sending this article to someone you love. Or, print out the article and…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Is the soil in your garden contaminated? If so, is it okay for you or your kids to be working in the soil? Will the vegetables you grow there be safe to eat? The answers to these questions are complicated, and we don’t have all the information we would like. That’s according to Hannah Shayler, extension associate at the Cornell Waste Management Institute. She is working on Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities, a research and education partnership…...