Find a garden speaker for your next event Garden Talk Buffalo provides a way for garden clubs, garden centers and other groups to easily find speakers. This brand new website is a speakers bureau that lists Western New York’s top gardening speakers. You can find all the information you need, including the speakers’ topics, bios and contact information. If you have an event coming up, but don’t know who is available to speak, check out Garden Talk Buffalo. If you…...
Tag: Gardening crafts
Video shows you how to dry roses; workshops coming up in Buffalo
by Connie Oswald Stofko Learn how to dry roses using silica gel in the video below with David Clark, a nationally recognized horticulture instructor, gardening expert and event judge. You can learn more in a series of three hands-on workshops to be led by Clark as part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo. The sessions will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, March 6 and March 20 in the gymnasium of the Catholic Academy of…...
Hypertufa: additional tips on using this material to make planters
Hypertufa is a concrete-like material that you can use to make planters that can stay outside all winter. In December, Anne Brierley of the Parkside area of Buffalo took us through the steps of making a hypertufa planter. But she had so many great tips, we couldn’t squeeze them all into one video. In the video below, Brierley gives tips on using leaves to make impressions, talks about coloring hypertufa and goes into more detail on the process of making…...
Hypertufa: What it is and how to use it to make a planter
Back in the 1930s, it was found that some Alpine plants grew well in tufa, a porous rock formed when water seeps through limestone. Tufa was scarce and expensive, so a few gardeners worked to find an inexpensive and accessible alternative. The product they came up with is called hypertufa. Hypertufa is similar to concrete, but lighter and more porous. You can use it to make planters in whatever size or shape you need. Anne Brierley of the Parkside area…...
Woodland motif used in Old Fort Niagara holiday decorations
An “Upstairs, Downstairs” theme has been used by the Youngstown Garden Club to decorate Old Fort Niagara for the holidays. The decorations are woodsy and rustic to fit in with the architecture of the building known as the French Castle, built in 1726. The ornaments used in the officers’ areas are are fancier, embellished with satin ribbons and silver cording. You can see the decorations through Monday, Dec. 31. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. (The fort is…...
Dried flower designs: Get inspired with creations from convention
Wonderful bookmarks, pictures and plaques using dried materials were on display this spring at the National Garden Clubs convention held right here in Buffalo. The convention offered so much to write about, I had to spread out the articles. In previous installments, you can get ideas for miniature flower arrangements; you can watch Ricardo Costa, internationally renowned floral designer from Brazil, create a flower arrangement, and you can see exhibits from the flower show. I saved the topic of dried…...
Too shady for grass, Hamburg yard is filled with gardens, paths & curios
by Connie Oswald Stofko An iron headboard and foot board give another meaning to the term “garden bed” in this yard at 224 East Prospect Ave., Hamburg, where Kathleen Winter shared her gardens during Buzz Around Hambug on Saturday and Sunday, July 14 and 15. This part of Winter’s front yard is one of the few sunny spots on her property. Her side and back yards are under a canopy of tree branches, which is delightful during the hot weather…...
Objects picked from trash add beauty to Amherst garden
Suzi Redino estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of the furniture and decorations in her yard were purchased. The rest were picked out of the garbage. Literally. Suzi specializes in trash to treasure in her interior design business, Cherry Tree Design. Her husband Rick’s family business is a junk yard, R & R Salvage. Almost every day he brings something home to her, and many of the items find their way into her yard. “That’s from the junkyard,” she…...
Learn how to braid garlic from Lockport gardener
Keep garlic handy and add a decorative element to your kitchen when you make this ornament by braiding freshly picked heads of garlic. Jim Gugliuzza demonstrated the craft during Lockport in Bloom on July 7 and 8 at his home at 684 Walnut St., Lockport, where he has a 700-foot lot with large vegetable gardens. Gugliuzza planted 12 kinds of garlic this year. Garlic is usually harvested around July 10, but he pulled some early to show us his braiding…...
New garden walk debuts in West Seneca, watering tips & more
Brand new garden walk begins this year in West Seneca The West Seneca Garden Walk will take place for the first time from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22. Get the map right here, and maps will also be available on the Burchfield Nature & Art Center website. You can pick up paper maps at Ebenezer Greenhouse, 1347 Union Rd., West Seneca. The West Seneca Garden Walk is being organized by Sharon and Dave…...