red table beets and beet juice

Table beets are getting trendy

Did you know: These are a few takeaways from a talk by Julie R. Kikkert, team leader of the Cornell Vegetable Program. You’ll find much more information, including the interesting way beet seeds germinate, in her talk on this video….

leaf watercolor with Zentangle

Hear talks on pawpaws & medicinal plants

Two talks will be held on native plants this week. Wild Ones WNY will hear Kyle Thompson talk about his farm in Lockport where they grow pawpaws, the largest fruit native to North America. Buffalo Audubon will host Seneca Elder Marvin Jacobs, who will show and discuss dried samples of native medicinal plants. Pawpaws Wild Ones WNY will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 14 at Christ United Methodist Church, 350 Saratoga Dr., Amherst. There is ample parking in the adjacent lot. They…

daisies and more flowers in Western New York

Subscribe now & get one month free!

by Connie Oswald Stofko A couple weeks ago, I let you know that I decided to begin charging for subscriptions. The response was overwhelmingly positive! The paid subscriptions will start Jan. 14, 2025. If you subscribe now for a one-year subscription, you will get one month free! Three levels to choose from Level 1: Three-month Trial Subscription You will receive three months of great gardening information for Western New York. You also have access to our previous articles! The price…

pumpkin in Amherst NY

4 tasks you can do now in your autumn garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s November, but there is still plenty to do in your garden in Western New York. Compost pumpkins Are your jack-o’-lanterns drooping? It’s time to compost them. Don’t compost pumpkins that were painted, bleached or glittered. The pumpkins will decompose more quickly if they’re in smaller pieces. This is the fun part! Just hold the pumpkin as high as you can and throw it on the ground. It works best if you smash it on concrete,…

orchid cattleya skinneri

See Orchid Show at Botanical Gardens this weekend, Nov. 9-10

The Niagara Frontier Orchid Society will present “Orchids Under Glass” this weekend at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. The show will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. The show is included with admission….

swallowtail butterfly in Amherst NY copyright Stofko

Leaf litter isn’t trash—it’s gold!

by Connie Oswald Stofko “One of the craziest things people do is to rake up leaves and put them in a bag,” said Tom Kerr, senior naturalist at Buffalo Audubon Society. “Leaf litter is important, but some people scoop it up and throw it away!” Why you should leave the leaves Remember the food chain in science class? A plant is food for a certain insect, and that insect is food for a bird, and so on. If you took…

dried flowers arranged in a pumpkin at Henry's Gardens in Eden NY

Hands-on classes open now at Henry’s Gardens

Two hands-on classes are being held now at Henry’s Gardens, 7884 Sisson Hwy., Eden. The first is a floral class, where you can arrange dried flowers in a pumpkin. The second is a gardening class where you can plant three kinds of spring bulbs, all in one pot. Mark your calendar: Henry’s will hold its Christmas open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30 at Henry’s. Santa will be there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The…

poster in Arbor Day poster contest 2024

Enter Arbor Day poster contest; deadline is Dec. 31

Celebrate the beauty of New York State’s trees by participating in the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest organized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Submit your photography or artwork to be considered for the 2025 New York State Arbor Day poster. DEC prints thousands of posters for distribution to schools, the New York State Fair, libraries and other venues every year. Contest guidelines: Visit DEC’s website to read the full guidelines of the contest and to submit…

little brown bat

Bat Week! Why you should help

Bats are insect-eating machines, eating thousands of flying insects in a single night! That’s one reason why gardeners should help bats. And one way you can help bats is by planting a pollinator garden. The plants attract insects, and the insects pollinate the plants. Bats are a player in that, too, by keeping the insect population in check. We have nine species of bats in New York State and they all eat insects, according to the New York State Department…