by Connie Oswald Stofko As we move into autumn, how is your garden doing? Is it still interesting? If not, take steps now to have a better autumn garden next year. Get inspiration from some past articles: 4 big tips for creating a garden with year-round interest Create a beautiful autumn garden; see how Amherst gardener does it Look for ‘two-fers’ for your garden It’s autumn, and this Amherst garden is still blooming!…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Even if you’ve never heard of mulch volcanoes, you’ve seen them. They’re those neat, cone-shaped piles of mulch at the base of trees. They’re kind of pretty. But like a real volcano, a mulch volcano is dangerous — it can slowly kill your tree. Nobody seems to know how this trend started. The trend continues, I guess, because people copy their neighbors. And then the mulch volcanoes seem to be everywhere. If everybody is doing it,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko No, it’s not too late to plant perennials! In general, you should plant perennials by the middle of September, said Mark Yadon, vice president at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses. You want to give the plant enough time to establish roots before the ground freezes. Depending on the winter, you might be able to plant later, but you should be safe if you get your perennials in by the middle of September. Now is a good time…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Phyllis Lobbins, a Master Gardener from Cheektowaga, had a swing frame that might have gone out to trash, but she came up with a great use for it: She made it into a trellis for her cucumbers and squash. “I used regular garden twine because that was all I had on hand at the time,” Lobbins said, “but I would prefer using nylon string, or something that would not break down as quickly as twine. “I…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Bringing nature indoors was an aim of Frank Lloyd Wright, the famed architect who designed the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo. Wright wanted the Martin family to be able to enjoy nature even when they were inside. Rather than being an afterthought, the landscape was an integral part of the architectural design. That landscape, designed more than 100 years ago, has now been brought back to life. “We tried to re-create what had been here by…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The pond in the photo the may look overgrown, but all that foliage serves a purpose: It stops herons from eating fish in the pond. In this article, you can also find details on the last garden walk for 2019: the Black Squirrel Home and Garden Walk in Niagara Falls. Stop herons from eating your fish Marcia Panzarella shared her Camden Ave. landscape last week during the Northwest Buffalo Tour of Gardens. She has a pond,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko What is bolting versus flowering? In both cases, the plant produces a flower. Flowering occurs as a natural part of the plant’s life and generally doesn’t affect the taste of leaves. Bolting occurs when a plant is stressed, often because the temperatures got too warm for that plant’s liking. The plant wants to reproduce before it dies, so it sends up a flower that will go to seed. Bolting diverts resources away from the leaves, which…
I got this great tip when I visited a garden on the East Side Garden Walk on July 20. Garden walk season isn’t over yet. There’s the Northwest Buffalo Tour of Gardens this weekend and the Black Squirrel Home and Garden Walk coming up on Aug. 10. Make sure you water the roots The vegetable garden at 261 Maple St. is huge and it takes two days to water, said David Lewis. Lewis maintains the garden for his relative, Cecil…
by Connie Oswald Stofko “You rebuild, and rebuild better,” said Krista Palgutt, whose landscape was damaged when their neighbor’s garage burned down. The back of the Palgutts’ house was charred. The patio, which they had just installed the previous year, had to be redone because the plastic furniture melted onto the patio. “But all the perennials came back,” Palgutt said, “except for the old growth hydrangeas.” No one was hurt in the fire, and I saw how their landscape made…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The leaves on the bottom of my tomato plants are turning yellow, then brown. Don’t worry; it’s normal, says Jen Weber, vice president and manager of Mike Weber Greenhouses at 42 French Rd., West Seneca. “That’s what happens when the plant starts making tomatoes,” she said. “It’s better to have an ugly plant with lots of tomatoes than the other way around. By the end of summer, you should have a dead-looking tomato plant.” That’s what…
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