by Connie Oswald Stofko Many of you may have received an amaryllis bulb or plant over the holidays, and you’d like to get it to rebloom indoors next year. It’s not hard to do. However, I’ve heard from a couple people that they were told to cut back the plant after it has finished blooming. Don’t do that! You need to keep the leaves on the plant. Through photosynthesis, the leaves will work to recharge the bulb. The plant needs…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A natural slope combined with raised beds add interest to the Hamburg yard of Barb and Dave Whittemore. “There are seven steps to the top deck,” Dave pointed out. “We really have vistas with this. The elevations make a world of difference. That’s one thing I really enjoy.” A screened-in seating area is perched at the top of the garden looking down on the main part of the yard. “You can sit up there and see…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko What is this garden showing me? That’s what gardening expert Sally Cunningham will help you learn in one of four talks she will present during the WNY Home & Garden Expo at the Fairgrounds, 5820 South Park Ave., Hamburg. The expo will be held 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb 19; noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. I’ll…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you want to try something different in your spring garden this year, the folks at Lockwood’s Greenhouses suggest the artichoke. If you like to cook and eat artichokes, you’ll naturally be drawn to this plant, but it’s interesting in several ways to gardeners. First, it gets beautiful gray-green foliage, making it a wonderful accent plant, said Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager. You can enjoy it as a lovely addition to your flower bed. The plant…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko This is actually an update of a tip from David Clark, the nationally known horticulture speaker who teaches at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Winter sowing is great because it gives us gardeners in Western New York something to do when it’s cold and snowy out. You plant hardy seeds in old milk jugs or other containers and set the containers outside now. The seeds will know when they should sprout in the spring…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko When we’re planning our gardens, so many of us forget about what should make up the backbone of our gardens: trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs are larger than most other plants in your garden, so you want to plan around them. Once you plant them, they should stay put–It’s harder to relocate a tree placed in the wrong spot than it is to move a 12-inch flower. Trees can be expensive, too, so you…...
Before you dig up an area for a new garden or plant a tree or dig holes for a fence, you should call 811 or use the online Single Address Ticket. When you call or make your request online, your local utilities come out– for free– and flag where their lines are so you don’t accidentally hit them with your shovel or rototiller. You’d be pretty embarrassed if the whole neighborhood lost its cable because you cut the line. And…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “People will tell me, ‘I’ve been growing tomatoes in this same spot for 15 years and I’ve never had a problem with disease,” said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener, garden writer and teacher. “I tell them, ‘You’ve been lucky.’” Harlos suggests that you rotate your plants in your vegetable garden about every three years to discourage pests and prevent disease. Rotating vegetables means placing them in a different spot in your garden. An important thing to…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are some great last-minute gift ideas for gardeners from Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. They’re all plants that gardeners can enjoy in the house now for their flowers or berries, then plant outside in the spring and enjoy as perennials for years to come. Of course, you can buy them for yourself, too. The first choice is a wintergreen called Gaultheria procumbens. As she showed it to me, Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager, crushed…
I got this question from reader Trudy Stern: “I have a daffodil question: Should I keep them in the deep freeze for awhile before I force them indoors in January or February? Tulips? Any special tips? I am looking forward to having some bulb beauty in my house throughout the winter.” I thought this was a question many readers might be interested in, so I contacted Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Each…...
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