Occasionally we post questions from our readers. This reader has asked around and hasn’t been able to find anyone who knows what’s wrong with her trees. If you can help, please leave a comment below. “These are my pine trees that have turned yellow. This is the third year they’ve been yellow. I’d hate to have to cut them down but they have become rather unsightly. No one seems to know what is wrong with them. The needles are holding…...
The flower for September birthdays is the aster. When so many other perennials have passed their peak and you might start to think that our gardening season is ending, the aster opens its petals and reminds us there can still be a lot going on in our gardens. My aster just started blooming about two weeks ago and is a welcome sight. I expect it will continue to bloom for several more weeks. “Asters add a nice, bright pop of…...
Speed up compost with this no-turn bin I love these instructions for making a bin for a compost pile that you don’t have to turn. It’s cheap and very, very easy. Compost piles need oxygen to carry on the decomposition process. One way to speed up your compost pile is to turn the pile with a pitch fork. This design by Fred Davis of Hill Gardens of Maine allows air to circulate throughout the pile so you don’t need to…...
Every so often, I get questions from readers that I can’t answer. That’s no surprise; when it comes to gardening, I am just a hobbyist. I’m able to bring you great information each week because I can interview people who know more than I do. So when I get questions I can’t answer, I turn to my readers for help. If you can offer advice on any of the questions below, please leave a comment below. And if you’re interested…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you had problems with your impatiens this year, the good news is that you probably didn’t do anything wrong. The bad news is that your impatiens were probably killed by a fungus-like disease called downy mildew. The disease remains in the soil, so you should plan on planting something different in that spot next year. There is no treatment. “That’s the most challenging thing about it,” said Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with Cornell University…...
Free landscape classes set at Arbordale You can create outdoor living spaces, increase your property value and love your yard with help during free classes at Arbodale Nurseries and Landscaping, 480 Dodge Road, Getzville, NY. The 45-minute classes will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 8 and 29. The experts on Arbodale’s staff experts will help you decide where plants go and how they are spaced. Listen to witty reasons to dig out those overgrown junipers. Bring photos and…...
There is still time to start some crops from seeds this year, said Ray Crawley, manager at Goodman’s Farm Market, 2227 Cayuga Dr. Ext., Niagara Falls, NY. Seeds are currently 50 cents per packet or three packets for $1. Lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard all do better in cooler weather, and you can start them from seed. You eat the leaves, so it doesn’t take long to get something to harvest. The farmers who supply Goodman’s Farm Market grow Swiss…...
Labor Day is approaching, the kids are heading back to school and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. Autumn is on its way, but that doesn’t mean that the gardening season is over, according to Toronto garden writer Ken Brown. Brown, a horticulturist who landscaped exhibits at the Toronto Zoo, will be the featured speaker at Lockwood’s Greenhouses Fall Garden Fair to be held Saturday, Sept. 8 at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg. The fair includes several great talks and demonstrations…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may remember Jim Gugliuzza of Lockport, who earlier showed us how to braid garlic. He has large fruit and vegetable plots in his yard on Walnut Street that he shared during Lockport in Bloom in July. The sign that hangs there sums it up– Check it out below right. Gugliuzza had lots of great information on growing fruits and vegetables. Here are seven tips I hope you find useful: Keep birds out of your berries…....
“It’s like an extension of your house, an outdoor room,” Russ Polvino said of his fabric gazebo. “I love to sit out here and listen to music.” I visited during the Saturday Night Lights portion of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour held July 21 and 22, and visitors could see his gardens during the day as well. Polvino shares the home at 1237 Tonawanda St., Tonawanda, with Doug Dedman. The gazebo at the back of the house really does feel like an…...
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