I spotted my first robin last week. My crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths are blooming. The weather has been amazingly mild– bordering on hot! And the calendar says that today is the vernal equinox. Any way you look at it, spring has arrived in Buffalo, and we gardeners are raring to go. Here are six great gardening tips you can use right now: Spring gardening tip #1 Try new Cool Wave pansies, a frost tolerant plant that trails and spreads. It…...
If you own land on a lake, creek, river or other body of water, you may know that using native plants in the landscape can benefit the environment. But it can benefit you, too. You can learn more on how to care for your waterfront property at a series of workshops scheduled by Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. The workshops will provide technical assistance on the topic of waterfront or riparian habitat restoration using native plant species. The first workshop will be…...
“We like to have our coffee out there,” said Ann M. Bednarek, referring to her beautiful garden that you can see in her photo at left. She named the photo, “Have a Seat in Paradise.” Ann and her husband Jack have lived in the duplex at 136 Fairgreen Dr., Amherst, since 2004. They have been adding to the backyard garden there every year. Many of their plants are perennials, which are still blooming. Ann enjoys the zinnias because they come…...
In the first year, Judy Horan planted eight pink geraniums. Now, just four years later, her garden encompasses the area from the front door of her Amherst condominium, around the corner to her deck. It continues beyond a huge evergreen where she has a small vegetable garden. Oh, and she has a garden on the other side of the driveway, too. “I was bored,” said Judy, who is retired. “But this is it. It’s not going to get any bigger.”…...
When Jim Tarantino moved 22 years ago into his home at 1069 Eggert Rd., Amherst, there wasn’t much of a garden. His major concern was erosion in the part of the backyard that slopes down to what is now Kadimah School of Buffalo. He built the retaining wall and planted whatever he could to hold down the soil, happily accepting cuttings from other gardeners. In the photo at left, these lovely plantings are actually outside his fence; his yard is to…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Patience. That’s what you need if you want a yard and gardens like those at 84 Woodward, Buffalo, the home of Melissa and Bill Maldovan. The Maldovans’ gardens were decades in the making. The couple shared their lovely landscape with visitors during the 14th annual Parkside Garden Tour on Sunday, June 26. Both husband and wife have gardening backgrounds. Melissa has taken horticulture classes and Bill did landscaping in high school and college. When their three…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Right now there’s not a lot of color with the perennials,” said Marlene Craft. She remedies that situation by making great use of clever container plantings. “I can move things around and get color where I need it,” she explained. Above, the large watering can is filled with licorice (light green) and coleus (red). The yellow plant in the small can is creeping jenny or goldilocks. Marlene also uses bird cages, carpenters’ tool boxes and other…...
“I’ve been into birds for a really, really long time; probably six years,” said Nick Fratello, 11. That’s why he prepared an exhibit on garden plants that attract birds, which he displayed at a booth at headquarters for the Black Rock and Riverside Tour of Gardens on Aug. 7. He also handed out tip sheets. His tip sheet begins with hummingbirds. While there are hummingbirds in Western New York, the only kind you’re likely to find here is the ruby-throated…...
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