decorative fence with trellis and gate in Hamburg NY

See great landscapes like this on Open Gardens, garden walks starting in July!

by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s something to look forward to: Open Gardens and some garden walks this summer! You can see a list of which gardening events are open and which are canceled at the end of this article. There may still be changes, so to get the most up-to-date information, go to the calendar page of Gardens Buffalo Niagara. One of the garden walks that has been canceled is the The Hamburg Garden Walk, but organizers plan to offer…

Eastern coyote

Coyotes: Another reason to use a covered compost bin

When you started your compost pile, you may have worried about attracting mice and rats. But here’s a new concern: coyotes. Eastern coyotes are well adapted to suburban and even some urban environments. They are becoming a more common sight to gardeners in Western New York, and you don’t want to attract them to your yard. One thing gardeners can do is to enclose compost piles so coyotes can’t get at them. That’s a tip from the New York State…

side garden on Ken-Ton night

Lighting gives yards ambiance during Night Lights in Ken-Ton

by Connie Oswald Stofko Jim Aichinger and Tim Kuntz’s gardens are lovely during the day. “But when the lights come on, oh, it’s wonderful back here,” said Kuntz. They shared their Cornwall Avenue landscape during the Night Lights portion of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour on Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18. The daytime portion was held Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19. The front as well as the back is lit 365 days a year, Aichinger said, with…

dog by garden in South Buffalo NY

South Buffalo gardener uses simple fence to keep peace with her puppy

by Connie Oswald Stofko Shiloh, not quite two years old, is still a puppy. She’s well behaved, but she has one puppy behavior that could be maddening to a gardener. She likes to dig holes and bury bones– in the garden! Her owner, Justine Tutuska, came up with a creative way to keep her garden beds intact. She made simple fences by tying together bamboo sticks. She sets these across the garden beds to keep Shiloh out. You can see…

Tips: Keep cats from eating plants and keep bees from bothering you

by Connie Oswald Stofko I had a great time recently speaking to the Silver Creek Hanover Garden Club. What a fun group! They gave me a some great tips that I want to share with you. A member has trouble with cats eating her indoor plants. What can she plant that cats won’t eat? One audience member suggested aloe. Her cat chomped on her aloe plant– but only once. Apparently the cat didn’t like the pointy parts. Well, the questioner…

forest-like backyard in Buffalo NY

Serenity of a forest found in City of Buffalo backyard

by Connie Oswald Stofko Many people struggle with shady yards, wishing they could grow the plants they see in sunnier gardens. Jeff Lokken is different. He embraces his canopy of trees. The result is a forest-like retreat from the noise of the city. We visited Lokken last year during Garden Walk Buffalo at the home he shares with Rebecca Bish at 170 Prospect Ave., Buffalo. This year Garden Walk Buffalo will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday…