Fresh flower arrangement lasts for years– it’s made of potted perennials! This arrangement makes a great gift for a gardener. Not only is it gorgeous, the recipient can actually have all of these flowers in his or her garden next year! That’s because these aren’t cut flowers; this is actually an arrangement of potted perennial plants. This idea comes to us from Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. Last year he gave…
by Connie Oswald Stofko In a previous video, you learned how to dry roses, and last week you learned how to preserve leaves using glycerin. This week, David Clark, horticulturist, shows us how to pull those elements together by making a hand-tied bouquet. It’s easy once you see how it’s done! You can get more great tips from Clark during a series of upcoming workshops that have been organized as part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Blessed Sacrament Church in…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I had never even heard of using glycerin to preserve leaves until David Clark, horticulturist, showed me how. It’s a simple and inexpensive technique. You can learn how to do it in the video below. Last week we showed you how to dry flowers. Next week we’ll show you how to combine the preserved leaves and flowers by making a hand-tied bouquet. You can learn even more in a series of upcoming workshops led by Clark…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Learn how to dry roses using silica gel in the video below with David Clark, a nationally recognized horticulture instructor, gardening expert and event judge. You can learn more in a series of three hands-on workshops to be led by Clark as part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo. The sessions will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, March 6 and March 20 in the gymnasium of the Catholic Academy of…
The birthday flower for January is the carnation, which is one of my favorite flowers. It has everything you could want in a flower– a beautiful shape, a wide variety of colors and a delightful fragrance. But some people look down on the magnificent carnation. “The carnation got a bad reputation,” said Maggie Wittmer, floral designer at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses in Williamsville. “There’s no reason to hate the carnation. That’s a bum rap.” In addition to being beautiful, the…
An “Upstairs, Downstairs” theme has been used by the Youngstown Garden Club to decorate Old Fort Niagara for the holidays. The decorations are woodsy and rustic to fit in with the architecture of the building known as the French Castle, built in 1726. The ornaments used in the officers’ areas are are fancier, embellished with satin ribbons and silver cording. You can see the decorations through Monday, Dec. 31. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. (The fort is…
Wonderful bookmarks, pictures and plaques using dried materials were on display this spring at the National Garden Clubs convention held right here in Buffalo. The convention offered so much to write about, I had to spread out the articles. In previous installments, you can get ideas for miniature flower arrangements; you can watch Ricardo Costa, internationally renowned floral designer from Brazil, create a flower arrangement, and you can see exhibits from the flower show. I saved the topic of dried…
When it comes to decorating, gardeners like to bring the outdoors inside, and using a nature theme actually makes it easier to transition from fall holidays to winter holidays. Pine cones are great transitional elements, said Mary Gurtler, designer at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. The wine glasses in the photo above are a great example of that. If I describe them as being painted in fall shades of yellow, brown and green, you can picture them on a…
If you have a whole pumpkin left over from Halloween, here’s an easy way to fancy it up for Thanksgiving. This idea comes to us from Becky Watts, CNLP, garden consultant at Lockwood’s Greenhouses. Take a whole pumpkin. (Note that the green pumpkin in the photo is a real, fresh pumpkin. It’s a variety called Ghirardelli.) Glue Spanish moss to the top of the pumpkin using Aleen’s Craft Glue. Watts said she spreads a band of glue about two inches…
I was entranced when I saw the exhibit on miniature floral designs this spring at the National Garden Clubs convention held in Buffalo. Miniature arrangements are something anyone can do and you can be as creative as you like. In flower shows, a miniature flower arrangement can’t exceed five inches in any direction, and sometimes the rule is set at three inches, said Carolyn Doerflein, National Garden Clubs accredited master flower show judge, who created the exhibit. At home you…
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