The Western New York Land Conservancy needs help from the community to complete a walking trail system so the public can access their newest preserve, the Owens Falls Sanctuary. The Owens Falls Sanctuary, which includes two beautiful waterfalls, a deep ravine and acres of mature forest, is located in the Town of Aurora between Center Street and Hubbard Road near Major’s Park. The area wasn’t accessible before, but now that the Land Conservancy has acquired the property, it wants to open…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A Tiny Garden Contest, Tiny Parade, signature gift bags and a raffle will be part of this year’s Williamsville Garden Walk, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 15. The garden walk headquarters will be at the Welcome Tent in front of Village Hall, 5565 Main St., Williamsville. Free parking is available in the municipal lot at rear. When you stop by, you’ll get more than just a map, said Deb…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been getting emails from people wanting to know what to do with lawns filled with lesser celandine. My best advice is to not let it get that far. Dig it up now. And do it this year when you have only a few patches! This is a serious weed, said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener, garden writer and speaker. “You have two choices,” Harlos said. “You can either spend the time and dig it out…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko No matter what size garden you have– even if it’s only a few containers on your balcony– we invite you to join the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. One of the significant threats to the health of pollinators is the scarcity and degradation of plants that they use for forage. The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge wants to increase the number of landscapes of every size– including pots on a balcony– that have plants that provide the nectar…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko We might not think about it a lot, but so much in gardening has to do with science. Whether it’s basic botany or soil testing or research on plant diseases or the new weather patterns we’re experiencing due to climate change, we depend on science in gardening. Yet talking about science has become something of a hot-button political issue. But it doesn’t have to be that way. “You can care about this without being political,” said Elizabeth Schiavoni,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko In the past, we’ve talked about many things gardeners can do to help protect our waterways in Western New York– See some of those ways below. Now Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is offering us another way to help our local environment: tell your representatives that you want them to prevent huge cuts to funding for Great Lakes cleanup. The White House is reportedly considering virtually eliminating the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The initiative is the product of…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Climate change is real We can see the effects of climate change in our area. Our gardening zones in Western New York were changed to reflect our warmer temperatures. The US Department of Agriculture website unveiled a new map of gardening zones in 2012 and noted: “The new map is generally one 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zone warmer than the previous map throughout much of the United States.” One of the effects of climate change in our area…...
Forest fires raged out of control in several southern states last month, but fire, when controlled, can also be used as a conservation tool. The Western New York Land Conservancy did that on Nov. 7 when it burned a grassland at the Niagara Escarpment Preserve on Leete Road in Lockport. It was the first prescribed burn to be done in Niagara County. The 10-acre grassland was healthy, brimming with tall native grasses that gave wildlife a place to hide, eat,…...
Mealybugs can be a problem for your houseplants during winter. Find out what to do about this pest in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters, published by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. Mealybugs are tiny, but they’re a problem because they suck fluid from plant, weakening the plant and making the plant susceptible to diseases. Save Save Save Save Save…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko As a gardener, you should be aware of climate change. You should also know that there is a lot of misinformation out there on climate change, so be careful. A lot of folks get their news through Facebook or other social media, but their friends may share posts without investigating them first to see if the information is correct. Here’s an example of a post that claimed that global temperatures went down in 2016, when they…...
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