by Connie Oswald Stofko After weeks of snow covering our gardens, we can see plants again here in Western New York! The sun has been shining. At times, the weather’s so warm, you can be outside without a sweater. We can tackle some gardening tasks now that we couldn’t do just a couple of weeks ago. But it’s still early spring and the weather fluctuates. The afternoon warmth can be followed by freezing temperatures at night. A stretch of warm…...
Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera buckleyi) is an easy-to-care-for houseplant that can flourish for years, said Lyn Chimera in this article in the most recent edition of WNY Gardening Matters. “I still have a large plant that started out as a cutting from my mother over 50 years ago,” she said. Learn more about Christmas cactuses– and Thanksgiving cactuses, too– as well as how to care for them, in the article. Also in this edition is a graphic on principles of permaculture…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko Tell your friends that today, Tuesday, March 22, is the last day to enter to win a gardener’s prize package worth nearly $500. All they have to do to enter is subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com. And it’s free to subscribe! Welcome new subscribers! Shout out to my loyal readers from past years! If you have already subscribed, you are already in the prize drawing! But if you haven’t subscribed, do it today. You will automatically be entered into our prize drawing…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko Plantasia, Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show, is back after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic. Plantasia will be held from Thursday to Sunday, March 17 to 20, at the Fairgrounds Event Center and Artisan Hall, 5820 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. You can buy tickets online or at the door. Here are a couple new things…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You don’t have to know everything about gardening to enjoy a wonderful garden. “If you ask me the name of the plant, I have no idea,” said Jim Bardot, who has seven magnificent gardens in his front yard in Amherst. If you’re a gardener who doesn’t like to keep track of plant names, don’t let that hold you back. Get inspiration from what Bardot has accomplished. See an overview of his front yard here and see…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I hope you’re enjoying all the features of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com: ideas from other Western New York gardens, your favorite gardening topics, and the most up-to-date list of WNY gardening events. Please take a moment to tell your gardening friends about this great resource– and let them know that they have only one week left to enter our prize drawing. All they have to do is subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, and it’s free to subscribe! Have you already subscribed?…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You might already know that succulents are easy to care for. You don’t need to fuss with them. They don’t need much water. And they don’t need a lot of light. But did you know that some succulents need more light than other succulents? We’ll discuss that in this article, and you can get more details on the best growing conditions for succulents in a talk at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 12 at Mischler’s Florist and…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I want to welcome all of our new subscribers! Maybe you heard about us from the email sent out by the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, noticed something on social media or heard about us from friends. No matter how you heard about us, we’re glad you’re here! Please tell your gardening friends! Now that you have subscribed, you’ll receive all of our great gardening tips, plus you are automatically entered into our prize drawing!…...
Do you have a tree that needs pruning? Winter is a great time to make any necessary cuts, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). It’s easier to see the branches and assess a tree during winter when it doesn’t have its leaves. In addition, pruning when insects aren’t active helps lower the risk of a fungus or disease (such as oak wilt) entering the pruning wound. Learn more about pruning trees here: See the article…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko When Kevin Lickers bought his West Side home in 2007, the small backyard had absolutely no gardens. “There was nothing here. I’m not kidding you. No flower beds,” he said while gazing at the colorful expanse of perennials that fill the yard now. What the yard did have was a big grill. “It was distracting, Lickers said, “and we don’t barbecue much.” He and his partner Ricardo Arce got rid of the large barbecue (they use…...