by Connie Oswald Stofko I want to welcome all my new readers who signed up with me this past week at the WNY Home & Garden Expo. Thank you for subscribing! It was so busy at the Expo that we didn’t get a chance to mention to all of you that we are running a drawing for three prize packages, each worth more than $200. To enter, all you have to do is subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com. If you subscribed at…...
Tag: Gardening news
Spring sale of tree, shrub seedlings under way in counties & through State DEC
During the Spring Seedling Sale, you can buy tree and shrub seedlings through various counties or through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Stock is limitied, so order early. The seedlings will be shipped to a central location in your county where you can pick up your order on a certain day. Ordering deadlines vary. If you live in a county that doesn’t have a central location…...
Call 811 before you dig new garden to prevent damage to utility lines, injury
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…...
Jamestown Audubon offers environmental scholarship; applications due March 15
Applications for the Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship, a $500 scholarship to an area college-bound high school senior or Jamestown Community College student who intends to pursue a bachelor’s degree in an environmental or related field, are now available from the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, March 15. For more information or applications, go online, call (716) 569-2345 or email shatfield@jamestownaudubon.org. In 2009 the award was named in honor of Ryan Paul Exline, a graduate student…...
Western New York communities get state grants for urban forestry projects
Western New York communities have received grants for urban forestry projects from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The organizations and projects are: Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, $24,000 for Erie County tree inventory project for Ellicott Creek and Elma Meadows Parks Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry, $18,240 for Erie County Parks tree management plan Town of Lancaster, $25,000 for Town of Lancaster 2014-2015 tree planting project Town of Newstead, $5,033 for…...
We’ll see you in 2015 after a short break; let’s look back on 2014
by Connie Oswald Stofko This is my last issue for 2014, but I will return Jan. 13 with more gardening tips and hints on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com. In the meantime, I’ll continue updating the Events page, so you’re welcome to check back to find out about all the great gardening activities in Western New York. This past year had its ups and downs for Western New York gardeners. It started with a bitter winter, but at least all that snow we got…...
Replace Botanical Gardens’ storm-damaged plants & 4 more ways your donation helps
by Connie Oswald Stofko During the recent Snowvember storm, the wind and the weight of the snow broke 150 panes of glass in two greenhouses at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The storm destroyed 154 plants indoors. It will cost roughly $6,000 to replace them. That’s not taking into account damage done to plants outside. But you can help by making a monetary donation today. Not only did the Botanical Gardens lose plants in the storm, it lost…...
Be a citizen scientist in Western New York: Help track squirrels & birds, take a survey & more
You don’t have to have a college degree to help advance scientific learning in plant and nature topics. You can help scientists collect data on a number of local and national projects. Here are a few projects that might interest you. __________ Let scientists know where squirrels are & where they aren’t Take a look around your home, office, school or other location and, whether you see squirrels or not, enter your observations at the Project Squirrel website. Scientists want…...
Name the next corpse flower at the Botanical Gardens & more updates
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can vote on your favorite name for the new corpse flower, which is currently is its leaf stage at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens received thousands of suggestions and whittled them down to five: Cinder-Smella, Ichabod, Gomez, Seymorgue and Morticia. (I won’t tell you which name I voted for.) I talked today to Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Botanical Gardens, and he said the leaf is now about…...
Corpse flower updates: Morty’s ‘sibling’ leafed out & is on display; third plant is budding
by Connie Oswald Stofko Remember Morty the corpse flower that bloomed last summer at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens? Well, it has siblings. In July, the Botanical Gardens purchased three corms (bulbs) of the plant Amorphophallus titanum. The plant is commonly called a corpse flower because, when in bloom, it emits a smell like garbage or rotting flesh. One of the corms, dubbed Morty, bloomed this summer. The second corm has sent up a single leaf that, as…...