by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a tip for designing a new perennial bed. You can use this tip now– Fall is a great time to plant perennials and start a new garden in Western New York. There’s still plenty of time for the plants to set roots. We all know one general design rule is to place taller plants in back and shorter plants in front. But Chet Okonczak of Cheektowaga, whose garden we saw in the spring, has interesting…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I had a great time recently speaking to the Silver Creek Hanover Garden Club. What a fun group! They gave me a some great tips that I want to share with you. A member has trouble with cats eating her indoor plants. What can she plant that cats won’t eat? One audience member suggested aloe. Her cat chomped on her aloe plant– but only once. Apparently the cat didn’t like the pointy parts. Well, the questioner…
In Western New York, should you bring your fish inside for the winter or leave them in your pond? That’s one of the questions Jeff Salmon, president of Arbordale Nurseries & Landscaping, will discuss during presentations on closing your pond for the winter. A free class will be held at Arbodale, 480 Dodge Rd., Getzville. The class is about 45 minutes long and will cover what to do with pond equipment, fish care, cleaning, plant care and more. It is…...
You can add color to your autumn garden now with cold tolerant annuals. You can find many varieties, grown on site, at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Amherst. Winter pansies, seen here, are popular. They’re frost tolerant and capable of withstanding our unpredictable fall weather. If you plant them in containers, they’re annuals, but if you plant them in the ground, they might come back in the spring. Ornamental kale and mums are favorites for autumn, but…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Remember my experiment with celery stumps? Well, I harvested some stalks and they taste delicious. I got the idea from posts on Pinterest. When you’ve finished off a bunch of celery, instead of throwing the stump on the compost pile, you root it. Set it in just enough water to cover that ridge at the base of the celery where the roots come out– See the photo at left. I first tried rooting celery this winter,…...
Sumac, a native plant, is pretty this time of year with its large red, cone-shaped flowers. You can see these small trees in parks or in the wild, and they make a great landscape plant. But did you know sumac is edible? There are quite a few native plants you might want to start growing for food– If you know how to cook with them. In this article we’ll tell you about two events where you can get ideas on…...
If you’ve had trouble getting your hydrangeas to bloom, you’re not alone. So many people had this problem that Tim Boebel wrote a book on the topic called Hydrangeas in the North. You can get tips directly from the author when he speaks at Lockwood’s Fall Garden Fair at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg. This year the fair will be held for two days, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 8. Hours will…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Denis Uminski said he should put a sign in his backyard that says, “Look up!” Otherwise visitors can miss one of the newest and most interesting features of the landscape: a flower garden planted on the slanted roof of the Uminskis’ garage at 95 Columbia Blvd., Kenmore. He and his wife Mary Jane got the idea during a visit to Plantasia five years ago. They had the garden installed during the second week in June, so…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko The wonderful shows at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens can give you lots of great ideas that you can use in your own garden or home. Here are four spectacular looks from last year’s succulent show that you could adapt for your own home. Get more ideas at this year’s succulent show to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Saturday, Sept. 7 to Sunday, Oct. 6 at the Botanical Gardens,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with Cornell University who co-wrote a fact sheet on how downy mildew affects impatiens, would like to know how your impatiens are doing. “I saw a photo last week of an impatiens in the Buffalo area with the distinctive white sporulation on the under-surface of the leaves– definitely downy mildew,” Daughtrey said. Daughtrey provided us last year with a photo showing the disease, which you can see below. “Have any of…...
© 2013 Buffalo-Niagara Gardening. All rights reserved.