by Connie Oswald Stofko Cherry trees are already flowering in the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park. Will there still be cherry blossoms to enjoy during the 11th Annual Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival next week? “I feel 100 percent confident that we will have cherry trees in bloom for the festival,” said Paula Hinz, co-founder of the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28 inside the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Hummingbirds generally arrive in Western New York at the end of April or early May. I’ve seen some mentions online saying that hummingbirds have already been spotted in Chautauqua County, but according to this map, they haven’t arrived yet (as of Tuesday morning, April 16). Perhaps people are seeing male hummingbirds. The males arrive a week or so before females, according to “When to Expect Hummingbirds in Your Yard This Spring” from Audubon.org. It’s possible that…...
“Unicorn” plants for changing gardens and ecofriendly rain gardens are among the topics to be presented at the 2024 Garden Symposium to be held by Master Gardener Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. The symposium will take place from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday, May 4 at Jamestown Community College, Carnahan Jackson Building, 241 James St., Jamestown. Here is the list of speakers and topics: Attendees will also have the opportunity to connect with fellow garden enthusiasts. Admission is $30 for the public or $20 for Master Gardeners from any county. Lunch will be available for an additional $11. Get tickets here. For more information, email chautauquamg@cornell.edu…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Come to the party! Life is a feast,” said an enthusiastic Jack Edson, expressing his outlook on his gardens and his life. I visited his landscape last year on the Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk. He touched on many topics, including nature, art and philosophy. As he discussed the mulberry trees in his yard, Edson noted that they have a painterly quality. He pointed out the light and dark of the mulberry leaves, and compared that…...
Gardeners can sign up now to share their landscapes on garden walks in several areas. See details below. Reminder: If you are organizing a garden walk or other event, please email the information to me at Connie@BuffaloNiagaraGardening.com. Amherst Garden Walk combines with Williamsville There may be more gardens to see this year on the Amherst Garden Walk now that it will encompass the Village of Williamsville as well. (The organizers of the Village of Williamsville Garden Walk stepped down and…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I’m happy to announce we have our three winners! The winners are: __________ __________ Each winner will receive a gardening prize package worth approximately $525! Please shop our wonderful sponsors that provided these great prizes!…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I felt a weird energy. That’s the best way I can describe what it was like during the partial eclipse of the sun here on Aug. 21, 2017. It was something like the beginning of a lightning storm. The feeling was subtle and short—I felt it for perhaps half a minute—but it was an interesting thing to experience. What will it be like when Western New York sees the total eclipse of the sun on Monday,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s a little early for herbs, “but people were asking for them, so we overwintered some and we planted some from seed,” said Jessica Limardi, staff member at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. This is the time for pansies, and you can also buy a floral arrangement for the total eclipse of the sun. Herbs There are just a few herbs now at Mischler’s; more will come later in the season. Of…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Why are we waiting so long to announce the prize winners? Because I need to clean up my list of subscribers. Some people who subscribed don’t open the weekly emails, and they don’t even open the email that tells them that they won a stupendous prize! To fix this problem, I will be working on my list and will delete people who rarely open my weekly emails. Don’t worry; if someone is deleted but would like…...
a Join WNED PBS live in the studio audience for the premiere of their new gardening program, Now We’re Gardening LIVE! The format is similar to the popular “Now We’re Cooking LIVE” shows. While WNED has done other original gardening series such as Garden Wisdom for WNY and Southern Ontario, this is the first time the station has done a gardening show with a live studio audience. Readers of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com can get a discount on tickets for the live show. See…...