by Connie Oswald Stofko You can generally harvest garlic in mid- or late-July in Western New York. The foliage starts to die back, which is an indication that the garlic is ready. Once your garlic is harvested, you’ll have an empty spot in your garden until October, the recommended time to plant garlic. But do we have to wait until October to plant garlic? As we discussed in a previous article, maybe not. Last year, I planted my garlic in…...
The good news is that oak wilt, a serious disease for oak trees, hasn’t been spotted in Western New York yet. The bad news is that it has been identified in Ontario County, southeast of Rochester, as well as in other parts of New York State. See a map here. The good news is that if oak wilt is found, steps can be taken to keep it from spreading. July and August is the time to spot oak wilt disease,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Open Gardens will be held on Thursdays and Fridays starting next week, so get your booklet now. The booklet lists the locations of the gardens as well as the times and dates that each garden is open. The organizers even included suggested routes to help you see all the gardens. The booklet is available for a $10 donation at many local garden centers– see the list here. The Open Gardens are like garden walks, but they take…...
You might want to include Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) or trillium in your spring garden. Find out why in two articles in this month’s edition of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners in Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County. Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) is the loveliest spring native wildflower, according to the article by Carol Ann Harlos. Other good news is that Virginia bluebells are not usually favored by deer or rabbits. Another pretty native plant is trillium…....
by Bonnie Vitale, president of the Western New York Rose Society There so many different types of roses. Which one is right for you? Here are a few examples of different types of rose bushes that grow well in our area. You can also find out more about roses at the 70th annual Rose Show to be held by the Western New York Rose Society from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22 at the Galleria Mall, One Walden Galleria, Cheektowaga. You’ll be…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You have probably seen mini-gardens on garden walks. There are vast fairy gardens and fairy gardens tucked under a tree and gardens in a tray There are yards with garden railways. And there are mini-gardens that have nothing to do with fairies or trains. Whatever direction you take, you’ll need small plants that give you the appropriate scale. Today we’ll talk about plants you can use in your mini-garden to mimic trees, lawns and flowering shrubs…....
When we think of pollinators, we usually think of bees. But any animal that carries pollen from one plant to another as they collect nectar is a pollinator. This includes hummingbirds, bats, beetles and even flies. More than 75 percent of all flowering plants are pollinated by animals. Since this is National Pollinator Week, we’re sharing some gardening tips on how you can help pollinators. This information comes from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Garden walk season in Western New York starts this weekend with the Lewiston GardenFest–see details below. If you’re sharing your garden on a garden walk, or just plan on having folks over for a barbecue, here’s a tip on daylilies that will make your gardens look pretty. Liveheading daylilies If you want to make your landscape look attractive for visitors, here’s a tip for daylilies from Kathy Guest Shadrack, who does communications for the Buffalo Area…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Now that we can’t recycle as many kinds of items as we did before, can we find ways to reuse them in our gardens? We already use lots of odds and ends in our gardens, but today let’s reach a little higher. Let’s look specifically at items that you can’t recycle anymore — items that get thrown in the trash and end up in a landfill. And let’s look at things that you were throwing into…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I don’t get deer in my yard, so I haven’t tested whether horse manure might keep deer away. But I know how desperate Western New York gardeners get when it comes to deer, so I figured I should pass along any tip that might help. I got this information from a blog post by Joyce Tomanek on Mother Earth News that was published in 1999. Tomanek lives in the Southeast, which may (or may not) make a difference…....
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