by Connie Oswald Stofko Last month, we talked about a project most home gardeners can do, building a garden wall, and we discussed the advantages of using natural stone instead of concrete. A reader asked if we would do something about building flat areas. To recap: In the previous article, we talked about building a garden wall that’s 6 to 12 inches high. It’s a little easier using natural stone than concrete because you can skip some of the preparation…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “We want people to come back downtown,” said Ruth Cooper of 12th St., Niagara Falls. “It’s safe here.” That was the message of the Black Squirrel Garden Walk, held July 23 as part of Garden Walk of Niagara Falls, USA. (The Black Squirrel Garden Walk is named that for the black squirrels that you can see in Niagara Falls but aren’t common elsewhere in other parts of Western New York.) The event included a garden walk…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko When it comes to hydrangeas, there’s something for everyone: large plants and small plants, early bloomers and late bloomers, tree shapes and shrub shapes. For those of you who got tired of watering this summer, there are drought-tolerant varieties. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the many hydrangea cultivars that are available, and you can find out more at the Fall Festival to be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may have seen succulents displayed vertically on a wall– we showed you a framed arrangement with a mirror that the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens used in its succulents show a few years ago. This year the folks at the Botanical Gardens thought it would be cool to create arrangements that look like abstract art, said Kristin Pochopin, director of horticulture at the Botanical Gardens. John Santomieri, horticulturist, suggested they take some of the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You could see– and hear– the nearby convenience store from the backyard. But not anymore. Bernie Grosser and Jim Jankowski now have a private backyard paradise at their home on Tudor Place in West Seneca. I visited them during the fifth annual West Seneca Tour of Gardens held July 23 and 24. In addition to having a noisy store nearby, another challenge of this yard is that it is situated at the top of a…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Natural stone not only adds charm to your landscape, it can be easier to work with than concrete, said Ethan Waterman, manager of Waterman’s Greenhouse, 12317 Vaughn St. (Route 240), East Concord (Springville). The first reason that it’s easier using natural stone for a garden wall is that a piece of natural stone is smaller and much lighter than a concrete block, he said. You don’t have to be a weight lifter to work with natural…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Three-quarters of the space in Sue Tronolone’s small backyard is taken up by the garage, driveway and above-ground pool, but you should see what she does with the space she has left. Tronolone shared her landscape on the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens during both the daytime tour and the Starry Night Garden Tour. Both events were held on Aug. 6. It was the last garden walk of the season. The focal point of…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko As of last week, Western New York is under a drought warning. Residents are asked to conserve water. A warning is the second of four levels of state drought advisories: watch, warning, emergency and disaster, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). While the Southern Tier got some rain the weekend of July 30 and some scattered areas of Western New York may have gotten a bit of rain since then, it…...
Here’s a clever idea for a container garden: an old shopping cart. It’s part of Grow on the Go, a mobile garden project through Cornell Cooperative Extension based in Niagara Falls. The idea is to help Niagara Falls residents grow fruits and vegetables in an urban environment where they may be living in an apartment with no greenspace. They may lack sunlight and gardening equipment, and they may not know how to garden. Using shopping carts allows the garden to…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Valerie and Anthony Hotchkiss of 42 15th St., Buffalo, have shared their gardens on Garden Walk Buffalo for eight years, but if you haven’t seen them in awhile, it’s worth going back. The couple got help from a landscaper, and what you see is all new in the last three years. Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the country, took place July 30 and 31. It featured more than 400 gardens. It was the…...
© 2016 Buffalo-Niagara Gardening. All rights reserved.