Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com The online magazine for gardeners in Erie and Niagara Counties Vol. 1, Issue 7 Aug. 10, 2010 Dear Friend, I have to admit that I’m feeling a bit sad right now because the National Garden Festival in Buffalo has come to an end. The organizers have created an amazing celebration that not only provides enjoyment and education for gardeners, but brings the community together, showcases our…
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Border garden provides privacy in South Buffalo
by Connie Oswald Stofko A new border garden gives a South Buffalo backyard more privacy. The gardens at 222 Cumberland Ave. were on display Sunday, July 18 during the 10th annual South Buffalo Alive garden walk. Dave Testa, who lives in the corner property with Jack Tontillo, envisioned the kind of mixed border you might see at a big English house. “I hate the formality of straight lines,” he said, explaining the curved design he used. When choosing plants, “I…
Clarence homeowners build prize-winning gardens
by Connie Oswald Stofko Suzanne and Bob Wiepert built their “backyard oasis” by doing a little bit each year, starting in 2006. This year their gardens at 9525 Melinda won first place in Clarence Hollow in Bloom, a garden walk held Saturday, July 17 by the Clarence Garden Club. The Wieperts bought the house for its large backyard, just under an acre, which had big trees and boulders. From there, they built separate gardens and gave them names. At right…
Fundraiser to honor Re-Tree chair
The Buffalo Green Fund will honor Paul Maurer, co-founder and chairman of Re-Tree WNY, with the first “Rooted in Western New York” award for his 17 years of dedication to the re-treeing our area. Re-Tree WNY was established on November 3, 2006 by a group of about 40 Western New York residents who saw firsthand the devastation done to the treescape by the freak October 2006 snowstorm. Led by Maurer and co-founder David Colligan, volunteers aimed to replace the approximately…
Buffalo Green Fund will honor chair of Re-Tree at fundraiser
The Buffalo Green Fund will honor Paul Maurer, co-founder and chairman of Re-Tree WNY, with the first “Rooted in Western New York” award for his 17 years of dedication to the re-treeing our area. Re-Tree WNY was established on November 3, 2006 by a group of about 40 Western New York residents who saw firsthand the devastation done to the treescape by the freak October 2006 snowstorm. Led by Maurer and co-founder David Colligan, volunteers aimed to replace the approximately…
Record-breaking temperatures marked 2015: A look back at the year in gardening
by Connie Oswald Stofko Yesterday I turned off the heat and opened the windows– and the temperature in my house went up a degree! Yesterday’s high of 71 set a record for Dec. 14. The previous record for that date, set in 1901, was only 64. Another record is our lack of measurable snow so far this season. The previous record was set in 1899, when we went until Dec. 3 with no snow to speak of. Here it is…
UB students design house with Buffalo gardener or urban farmer in mind
by Connie Oswald Stofko Wouldn’t you love to live in a home with a greenhouse where you could grow your own food all year? That’s a key feature of the GROW House being designed by a team of University at Buffalo students to appeal to Buffalo gardeners, or more specifically, to urban farmers in Buffalo. GROW House stands for Grow, Relax or Work House. It’s entered in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015, a two-year competition that will culminate…
Make this leaning tower of pots– It’s easy when you know the secret
Awhile back, I got a flurry of comments on the photo at left. People wanted to know how to make this leaning tower of pots that I photographed in Cherie St. Pierre’s yard in Eggertsville. It turns out that St. Pierre didn’t make hers; she bought the inner workings at a garden show. What she got was a long bar with a large fork at the end to be placed in the ground. The fork prongs give the rod more…
Grassless yards make Eggertsville property a mow-free zone
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can visit all of Cherie St. Pierre’s gardens in Eggertsville as part of the Open Gardens program of the National Garden Festival, but one is so different than the others that we had to give it an article of its own. While St. Pierre’s home and an adjoining property have traditional yards, her rental property across the street at 3887 Bailey has no grass in its front or backyard! She loves gardening, but the retired…