by Connie Oswald Stofko This spring we endured long, cold stretches of rain. Or snow. We couldn’t wait for dry, sunny days. Summer finally arrived and brought those hot, dry days, but perhaps we’ve had more than you would like. Yesterday I waited for rain that never arrived. Here are four reasons Western New York gardeners like rain in the summer: If it rains enough, we don’t have to water. While some gardeners enjoy the task of watering, others would…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here in Western New York, we gardeners have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s my list, and I hope you’ll share your own thoughts in a comment below. I’m thankful that we got plenty of rain this season. I rarely had to water. Gardeners I talked to were thrilled that their perennials were so big and healthy! There are so many garden walks and Open Gardens during the summer in Western New York that no…
by Connie Oswald Stofko and Stephen Vermette We’ve had some wild weather in the past week: lots of snow, wind, an official blizzard, and dangerously cold wind chills. But yesterday it felt like spring, with strong sun and temperatures around 60. Now some areas have flooding, and more flooding is possible. Tomorrow we might get freezing rain. Later in the week the forecast is for rain, then snow. Find out what you can do in your landscape in these changing conditions, and remember…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Martha and Dan Meegan have many gorgeous container plantings in their yard at 35 Montrose Ave., Buffalo, which they shared this month on the Samuel Capen Garden Walk. But not every gardening project works out the way you plan. “You’re going to fail at some,” Martha said, pointing to a small group of sad pots. “I left those out for people to see.” I loved that demonstration of encouragement to her visitors! I always…
by Connie Oswald Stofko “We’re going to be the Buffalo of the south,” said Kim Halyak of Memphis, Tennesee. “That’s my goal.” Got that, folks? Gardeners in other parts of the country want to be compared to us! I met Halyak this summer during the conference of GWA: The Association of Garden Communicators, which was held in Buffalo. Halyak was one of the few attendees who had been to Buffalo before. Originally from Pittsburgh, she drove up with her sister to…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Does sprinkling coffee grounds around roses really help the plants grow? Yes, it’s true that roses like coffee grounds, but they also like banana peels and egg shells, said C.L. Fornari, author of the book Coffee for Roses: …and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening. In fact, roses like any kind of organic matter. “People have been throwing their breakfast leavings around roses for years,” she said, but if you don’t want your roses to…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Well, it’s official. This was the coldest February on record in Western New York. It’s been a tough winter. Some of us got seven feet of snow in November alone. Even areas of Western New York that don’t normally get much snow have two feet or more on the ground. People are tired of shoveling, of trying to walk on snowy sidewalks, of driving through snow. Then there’s the cold. Day after day of below zero…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I used to think Groundhog Day was silly, but now I really like it. Not because it’s accurate, of course. Let’s take a look at what Western New York’s own Dunkirk Dave has predicted. Since he is billed as the world’s second longest prognosticating groundhog (or woodchuck), he has some experience. In 2012, Dunkirk Dave didn’t see his shadow, which is supposed to mean we would have an early spring. That year we had record-breaking hot…
by Connie Oswald Stofko You have to brush off your car every time you want to go anywhere. There’s shoveling. Then there’s more shoveling. Then there’s still more shoveling. The air is so bitter that if it touches your forehead, you get brain freeze, also known as an ice cream headache. Only there’s no ice cream. There are a lot of reasons to irritated, fed up and cranky. If you want to pout and complain, you’re justified. And sometimes it…
Patty Brandel of Getzville sent in this great photo compilation, saying, “I thought you might like to see these beautiful roses that were frozen in time in my yard early this morning!” While that frost on the ground had many gardeners groaning over what they might have lost in the cold, Patty went outside with her camera and captured this spectacular sight. I’m glad she shared these icy images with us. You can see more great images on the Your…
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