You’d be embarrassed if your whole neighborhood lost their cable because you were digging and cut the line. Even worse, if you hit a gas or electrical line, people–including you–could be injured or even killed! It’s easy–and free–to find out where buried lines are in your yard. See all the details in this previous article…....
“The primrose is one of the very first signs of spring—even before they show up in our gardens,” said Lyn Chimera, Master Gardener in Erie County. “I know spring is coming when the displays of primrose are in the supermarkets. “Given the proper growing conditions, these vigorous plants will multiply each year, adding stunning colors to the spring garden.” Use primrose in garden beds, borders and containers as well as for naturalizing areas in a woodland setting. You can find…...
Master Gardeners in Erie and Orleans Counties offer helpful tips and advice in their monthly newsletters. Here’s the latest information. Orleans County Digging In, the newsletter by Master Gardeners in Orleans County, starts off with suggestions on taking it slow: We are all itching to get back into the garden, to clean up the leaves, cut back spent perennials, and dig in new plants. But there are reasons to take it slow. Yes, they include protecting our pollinators, but they also…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Does part of your yard turn into a pond in spring? Get some tips from the North Tonawanda Botanical Garden Organization. The organization has been working for about five years to rehabilitate a long-neglected park located at 1825 Sweeney St., North Tonawanda, along the Tonawanda Creek portion of the Erie Canal. The group aims to revitalize the native habitat as well as create a scenic destination. The volunteers also help with educational programs and community activities…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko How did you feel on Friday, that sunny day that hit 75 degrees at the airport? I have lived in Western New York my entire life, so I should know better, but to me, it felt like spring was here to stay. In weather like this, I always think of a cartoon, To Spring, that I saw on TV when I was a kid. It’s a lovely short cartoon movie created in 1936. A bunch of…...
We need to protect peat bogs. Learn more about that in the article “Peat Moss and Sustainability” by Kathy Contrino, Master Gardener in Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Peat moss, which is used to help soil retain moisture, is grown in peat bogs. However, peat moss grows slowly and it grows only if the conditions are perfect. Peat bogs are also an environment for native carnivorous plants, so harvesting peat moss can disrupt that ecosystem. There are alternatives to peat…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may already have some milkweed and other native plants in your summer garden. Can you try for a loftier goal? Here’s a suggestion from Kim Eierman, an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer: Have three native plants blooming in your garden at any time throughout our entire growing season. “Pollinators don’t all wake up on the same day,” Eierman said. “What if all you had in your garden was milkweed?” In early spring, when we…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “It was just a makeshift thing,” said Kim Kaiser, talking about the wooden stakes that her husband Seth set up to try to keep deer out. “It was kind of ugly,” she said. “But the fence is too low, so I had to think of something. I could put up a better fence, but I don’t want to disturb the clematis on the fence.” Wooden stakes, the kind you would buy to stake trees, were set…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s snow on the ground and more snow to come. As I write this, the temperature might reach a high of 16 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill as low as -5. Brrr! That’s the forecast in the Buffalo area, but the weather is pretty much the same in the rest of Western New York. Yet despite the weather, the beginning of gardening season is here! Now is the time to get your supplies, equipment and…...
Sedges are as close to a carefree perennial as you can find, according to Lyn Chimera in the article “Sedges: Amazing and Hardy Perennials.” Native sedges have all the interesting features of grasses for your garden and much easier to care for. Other articles in this issue: WNY Gardening Matters is produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County…....
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