by Connie Oswald Stofko “While the big box stores have bulbs available before Labor Day, bulbs should not be planted before the beginning of October,” said Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager at Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market. “Our bulb suppliers won’t send them till the end of September. We usually have them in stock by the first week in October.” Autumn is the time to plant bulbs that flower in spring, but planting them too early could damage or even kill them. When…...
You have three more chances to explore the landscape at Graycliff, see the picking garden in bloom and check out the The Market at Graycliff with local vendors. Admission is free! The producer-only Market at Graycliff supports local vendors and features wine, pottery, candles and soap as well as cut flowers and produce from Graycliff’s historic vegetable garden. There is also music, adult beverages by the Tipsy Trailer, and family yoga run by Yoga Parkside at 6 p.m. each Market evening. If you want…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I just got an email from a reader wondering why there aren’t many events from her county on my Events page. It’s because if I don’t know about the event, I can’t post it. And if you don’t tell me about your gardening event, I won’t know about it. Please send me your gardening events! I post events for free for nonprofit organizations. You can e-mail the information to me at Connie@BuffaloNiagaraGardening.com. I publish the magazine…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Cheryl Harris of Buffalo was surprised when she was asked to share her large backyard on Urban Farm Day. She doesn’t view it as a farm, even though it’s a large space that grows plants in the city. But what else describes an urban farm in Western New York? Like our gardening, our urban farms are innovative, unusual and quirky. One lets you pick your own worms. Another grows microgreens inside. Still another supplies a pay-as-you-can…...
The box tree moth (BTM) was discovered in traps in Niagara County in July 2021, so everyone in Western New York has to be on the look out, said Lyn Chimera in the article Box Tree Moth: A New Invasive to Watch For. That article is part of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. The BTM damages boxwood as well as euonymus and holly (Ilex species). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Are you one of those gardeners who don’t know what you’re going to do with all that zucchini? Or maybe you had a bumper crop of tomatoes. Or peppers, squash, basil… . There are places near you that would be thrilled to take that extra food off your hands. FeedMore WNY distributes food to hungry people throughout Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties. They partner with 300 agencies. You can find food pantries near you on the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Perhaps as soon as January, patients with a medical card can legally grow cannabis at home in Western New York, and in about two years, home gardeners will also be able to legally grow cannabis. “There’s increasing interest in growing cannabis at home,” said Carolyn Stanko, professor and co-coordinator in the Horticulture Program and coordinator in Biology at Niagara County Community College (NCCC). NCCC is the lead institution for a $1 million grant from New York…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Gardening season in Western New York is longer than many people think–it doesn’t start and end on Memorial Day weekend. There’s still time to plant perennials, including ones that are blooming now. And you can freshen up your garden with summer annuals as well as autumn annuals. And some of these plants may be on sale! Planting perennials in late summer You can safely plant perennials now through mid-September, said Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist…...
Colorful creatures made out of live plants will be on display during the new Coleus and Creatures Exhibit at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from Saturday, Aug. 20 through Monday, Oct. 31. Look for dinosaur succulent topiaries, a coleus peacock, moss-made dinosaurs, a giant buffalo, a dragonfly, a shark and more. You’ll also be dazzled by hundreds of vibrant colored coleus throughout…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Sometimes we get plants that just show up in our gardens. If we want to keep those plants, we call them volunteers. If we don’t want those plants in our garden, they’re weeds. An interesting plant arrived in one of my garden beds this spring. I didn’t know what it was and wasn’t sure whether it was going to be a volunteer or a weed. It grew about five feet tall and got pretty little daisy-like…...