Native plants Archives - Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Wild Ones WNY: see the video on engaging community

If you missed Wild Ones WNY‘s online talk on “Engaging a Community,” you can watch the video here. Gwen Alegre, NY Master Naturalist, spoke about the lessons she learned starting a community volunteer conservation program with the Craneridge Homeowners Association, located in Glenwood in Erie County. She listed six lessons that she learned, and said that those lessons could apply to any situation where you’re trying to engage volunteers or trying to involve community. Upcoming events MLK Park greenhouse tour…...

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Apr 8, 2025

Take it slow: That tip & more from Master Gardeners in WNY

Master Gardeners in Erie and Orleans Counties offer helpful tips and advice in their monthly newsletters. Here’s the latest information. Orleans County Digging In, the newsletter by Master Gardeners in Orleans County, starts off with suggestions on taking it slow: We are all itching to get back into the garden, to clean up the leaves, cut back spent perennials, and dig in new plants. But there are reasons to take it slow. Yes, they include protecting our pollinators, but they also…...

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Apr 1, 2025

elderberries in North Tonawanda Botanical Garden in Western New York

Wet spot in your yard? Get tips from North Tonawanda Botanical Garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko Does part of your yard turn into a pond in spring? Get some tips from the North Tonawanda Botanical Garden Organization. The organization has been working for about five years to rehabilitate a long-neglected park located at 1825 Sweeney St., North Tonawanda, along the Tonawanda Creek portion of the Erie Canal. The group aims to revitalize the native habitat as well as create a scenic destination. The volunteers also help with educational programs and community activities…....

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Mar 25, 2025

images from short cartoon movie from 1936 called To Spring

Dealing with a taste of spring in WNY

by Connie Oswald Stofko How did you feel on Friday, that sunny day that hit 75 degrees at the airport? I have lived in Western New York my entire life, so I should know better, but to me, it felt like spring was here to stay. In weather like this, I always think of a cartoon, To Spring, that I saw on TV when I was a kid. It’s a lovely short cartoon movie created in 1936. A bunch of…...

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Mar 18, 2025

Protect peat bogs: article from Orleans County MG, plus tasks for March

We need to protect peat bogs. Learn more about that in the article “Peat Moss and Sustainability” by Kathy Contrino, Master Gardener in Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Peat moss, which is used to help soil retain moisture, is grown in peat bogs. However, peat moss grows slowly and it grows only if the conditions are perfect. Peat bogs are also an environment for native carnivorous plants, so harvesting peat moss can disrupt that ecosystem. There are alternatives to peat…...

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Mar 4, 2025

goldenrod with grass-carrying wasp, ground yellowjackets and sweat bee in Amherst NY

Beyond milkweed: aim for native plants throughout our growing season

by Connie Oswald Stofko You may already have some milkweed and other native plants in your summer garden. Can you try for a loftier goal? Here’s a suggestion from Kim Eierman, an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer: Have three native plants blooming in your garden at any time throughout our entire growing season. “Pollinators don’t all wake up on the same day,” Eierman said. “What if all you had in your garden was milkweed?” In early spring, when we…...

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Feb 25, 2025

Engaging a Community

Engaging a Community to Support a Neighborhood Conservation Program Online Free event. Gwen Alegre, NY Master Naturalist, will share challenges, successes, and lessons learned when implementing a community volunteer conservation program. The Craneridge Homeowners Association, located in Glenwood in Erie County, is starting its fifth year of a multi-year initiative that includes education, communication, partnering with local experts, and energizing neighbors to care about and DO something to plant native and protect our natural community. Register here. The talk is…

Feb 18, 2025

Monarch butterflies could become extinct: See what you can do

by Connie Oswald Stofko In order to protect monarch butterflies, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed listing the monarch under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). “This is good news for conservationists and nature lovers,” said Jay Burney, a local conservation activist. The monarch would be listed as threatened, which means it is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. (Endangered means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.) By…...

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Feb 11, 2025

Moth gardens, hardiness zones and more from Master Gardeners

Master Gardeners in Erie and Orleans counties share tips on moth gardens, what to do in your gardens now, a reminder about hardiness zones and more. Moth gardens Here’s a review on the book Gardening for Moths, a regional guide. The spectacular photos drew her in, but the text is attention grabbing, too, said Lyn Chimera, Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. Moths are responsible for a tremendous amount of pollination. We think about butterfly gardens, but…...

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Feb 4, 2025

Are black-eyed Susans native plants?

UPDATE FEB. 3, 2025: Some readers wanted to hear more about this topic, but couldn’t attend the talk when it occurred. You can see a summary of the main points of Ken Parker’s presentation here. by Connie Oswald Stofko Are black-eyed Susans native plants? To North America, yes. But to Western New York, they’re not native, said Ken Parker, membership chair of Wild Ones Western New York. And it’s important for “native plants” to be native to where we live…....

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Jan 14, 2025