If it weren’t for fungi, we wouldn’t have the Ten Commandments or the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s the tongue-in-cheek assessment of George Hudler, professor at Cornell University, who will speak on “Great Moments in History and How Fungi Got Us Here.” His entertaining talk will be part of the 20th annual statewide ReLeaf Conference, where you will have the opportunity to learn from professionals from across the country and Canada and to tour local community forestry projects,…...
Summer begins and so do the garden walks! What an exciting week: Tomorrow is officially the first day of summer, and garden walks start this weekend! (If you’re going to show your garden on a garden walk this summer and would be willing to spread the word about Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, I will gratefully send you handouts. Call Connie Oswald Stofko at (716) 833-5187 or email me at Connie@Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com.) Kicking off the garden walk season is the free 7th annual Lewiston GardenFest,…...
Orchid Care Workshop at Arbordale Nurseries You can learn basic orchid care from John Kociela of the Niagara Frontier Orchid Society during a workshop at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 23 at Arbordale Nurseries, 480 Dodge Road, Getzville. Kociela will show how to grow and maintain the most popular type of orchids. His presentation will include proper pruning, feeding and selection techniques. The workshop is free, but you must preregister. For more information, call 688-9125. __________ Lancaster Garden Club marks 80th anniversary…...
Wheat and hay crops in Western New York are being damaged by an epidemic of armyworms, but unless your yard backs up to a wheat field, your lawn probably won’t be affected. That’s according to John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. Cooperative Extension is also fielding calls from gardeners concerning problems with aphids brought on by mild weather as well as continuing problems with plants that were damaged by frost this spring. Armyworms damage feed…...
by Jeremy Sayers of The Tree Doctor Our trees and shrubs are suffering and changing as a result of climate changes, and as a Board Certified Master Arborist, that concerns me. What also concerns me is that many professional arborists insist on denying scientific consensus on the reality of global warming. Scientific consensus on climate change Emission of greenhouse gasses caused by humans is the leading factor contributing to climate change. In 2001 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the…...
The official start of summer is June 20, but the summer weather that we previewed in March seems here to stay. Here are a couple tips to keep you cool in your Western New York garden this summer, as well as other summer tips. Cucumber water is refreshing I tasted cucumber water for the first time last summer at the home of Sharon Heim and David Wahl in Buffalo. As you can see from the photo above, it makes a…...
by Colleen Morrissey, herb manager and container designer at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses If you love salad and enjoy gardening, plant a “lettuce bowl” container garden. It’s a quick and easy project. You don’t need much space, so you can have a “lettuce bowl” container garden on a sunny balcony, front stoop or just outside your kitchen door. Setting the container on a picnic table or other tabletop may discourage rabbits, slugs and other pests. This is also a…...
With flowers so large that you need two hands to cup a blossom, the tree peony in the garden of Christine Brooks provides a spectacular spring show. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked as I admired the tree with her this past weekend. The tree peony is visible from the street as you drive toward her home at 22 Larchmont in the University area of Buffalo. It’s in the side garden along the driveway. It blooms two weeks at the most,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Spring is an overlooked time for gardens in the Buffalo area. It seems we spend our time waiting and preparing for the end of May, the traditional time to plant tender annuals, and we forget to pause and enjoy the beauty of spring gardens. With perennials, you can have successive waves of blooms in your garden starting in early spring, said Fran Evans of Hamburg, who is a Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension Erie County…....
You’ll see marvelous examples of bonsai, the miniature gardening art form, at the upcoming Bonsai Show, but there is lots more to do at the show, too. You can also watch demonstrations on how to start a bonsai tree. There will be a table where you can get advice on tending bonsai trees, and you can even bring your own bonsai and get technical help. Bonsai supplies and trees will be sold. If you want to start a bonsai, you…...
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