by Connie Oswald Stofko Do you enjoy the great gardening tips that you can use in your own landscape? Have you found helpful advice about pests and invasive plants in your gardens? Do you like to keep up with garden walks, classes and other great gardening events in Western New York? If so, will you become a Super Reader? I don’t require my subscribers to pay a yearly subscription. I leave it up to you to decide how much Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are six reminders–or perhaps new ideas–for activities that Western New York gardeners can do in autumn. Start roses from seeds Yes, you can actually start roses from seeds, and autumn is the time to do it, said David Clark, CNLP. The seeds are inside the rose hip, which is the fruit of the plant. It’s a green or red ball that forms when the rose flower drops off. See more in the article “How to…...
For people who can’t attend a garden club during the day, the Orchard Park Garden Club has expanded to include an evening branch called the Seedlings. “We hope to attract members from the Orchard Park Community and perhaps nearby: West Seneca, Hamburg, East Aurora,” said Carol-Jo Pope, Seedlings liaison and member of the Orchard Park Garden Club. The next meeting of Seedlings will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the lower level meeting room of the Orchard…...
Flower arrangements and native plants will be the topics of the annual gardening symposium to be held by the Jamestown Garden Club Saturday, Nov. 11 at the YWCA Lake Lodge, 185 East Terrace Ave., Lakewood. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.; the program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon. Mail your registration form by Nov. 1 so that it is received by Nov. 6. Get the registration form here. The cost is $15 per person. David Clark, CNLP,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko As you walk along the driveway to the backyard, you make your first encounter with sharp angles. The vegetable beds are rectangles. Another bed is a triangle. Plant supports are triangles. “We have some circles and arcs to make the rectangular shapes more interesting,” said Paul Orrange. He and his wife Susan Orrange shared their Whiting Street landscape on the North Tonawanda Garden Walk in July. The Orranges have been in their home for about 25…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Last year we got the good news that the population of brown marmorated stink bugs could be declining in Western New York. But I saw more brown marmorated stink bugs this year than I did last year. Did you? Don’t worry. First of all, did you count the stink bugs this year? Or last year? Neither did I. Maybe we had 20 in our house this year and six last year. Is that a big difference?…...
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…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Some people can’t wait for spring; they want to see crocuses and tulips and other spring bulb plants blooming inside their homes while it’s still winter. If you’re one of those people, find out how to force bulbs with the great information here from Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager at Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market, 428 Rhode Island St., Buffalo. Now is the time to begin the process of forcing bulbs, that is, tricking the bulbs to flower…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Now is the time to think about overwintering plants so you can enjoy them next year. In “What plants do you overwinter in Western New York?”, you’ll find guidelines on which plants are happy outside in the winter, which plants you should bring inside and which plants might be difficult for you to overwinter. That article includes links to many other helpful articles. Here are more related topics:…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Blue skies! Highs in the 80s! What more could we want in Western New York? We might be celebrating, but are your plants happy? We haven’t had much rain in the past month, plus we’ve had hot, breezy conditions. That sucks the moisture out of the soil. Make sure you are watering often enough. Concentrate your watering efforts on these plants: See the U.S. Drought Monitor here. Most of Western New York is abnormally dry, while…...