Was your house roasting during the 80- and 90-degree days? Did your energy bill go sky high? Take this tip from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Plant a tree. Once it grows tall enough, a tree placed on the west or northwest side of a house can provide critical shade during the hottest times of day. This lowers the temperature inside the house and can reduce your cooling bill by up to 35 percent! To bring energy savings…...
These articles come from the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County. by Lydia Fernandez and Julia Bender August gardens can feel overwhelming. Everything’s either thriving or dying, weeds are winning battles you thought you’d won, and half your plans have gone sideways. The tomatoes are finally coming in, but the lettuce bolted weeks ago, and don’t even mention the aphids. This late-summer fatigue is real, and it hits most of us. But it’s not failure—it’s just August…....
July is the time to take inventory of the blank spaces in your garden, according to Peggy Koppmann in “This Month in the Garden.” That’s one of the articles in the most recent edition of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. “Perhaps a plant has died, or (gasp!), you killed it,” Koppmann said. “Maybe it got eaten by rabbits or it was overwatered or was in the wrong place. Maybe it was…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Four reasons why you should buy perennials now: Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses in Williamsville has a great selection of perennials now. Below are just a few. Delphinium: tall The delphinium is a grand perennial that can grow three or four feet high. It makes a good cut flower, said Jessica Limardi, a staff member at Mischler’s. The plant has a huge flower spike, and it also has side shoots coming out of the stem. The side…...
It’s important to keep your plants irrigated properly, especially when the weather is hot. Water the right way with the article “Quenching June’s Thirst” by Carol Ann Harlos. Here’s one tip from the article: soil should be wet at least four inches down into the soil, according to Harlos. Remember that the roots grow where the water goes. If you water to a shallow depth, your plants will grow roots that are shallow, that is, near the soil surface. The…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Five varieties of astilbe, one new groundcover and one new true blue flower. That’s what you’ll see in this article, but there will be many more varieties in the 69-cent perennial sale at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. Mark your calendar: The sale will start at 8 a.m. Friday, April 25 and continue while supplies last. Sale hours are: Plants are sold in packs of 4 for $2.76. A list of plant…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “It was just a makeshift thing,” said Kim Kaiser, talking about the wooden stakes that her husband Seth set up to try to keep deer out. “It was kind of ugly,” she said. “But the fence is too low, so I had to think of something. I could put up a better fence, but I don’t want to disturb the clematis on the fence.” Wooden stakes, the kind you would buy to stake trees, were set…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A completely renovated greenhouse, the Tropical Orchard, will open this Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. I was given a sneak peek yesterday to share with you! The Tropical Orchard features a collection of edible plants from around the world. Some of the plants you’ll see are starfruits, bananas, Australian finger limes, pineapples, chocolate tree, ponderosa lemon, strawberry guava tree and coconut palm. More common plants include peanuts, a peach tree,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I was shocked when I saw the pitiful state of my impatiens. The flowers were limp, the leaves were sagging and the plant looked miserable. I don’t know when I had watered them last, but, obviously, it was too long. I felt bad. Luckily, impatiens spring back fast. I checked back a few hours later and they were perky and happy again. But don’t wait until your plants start wilting to let you know that they…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “My garden has color from spring to fall,” said Elaine Bialecki, founder of the original Elaine’s Flower Shoppe in Depew. What does it look like at this time of the year? Watch the video below, made by Jay Jinge Hu of Williamsville at this time last year. Hu has shared many of his videos with us, and you can see them here. He has also welcomed visitors to his own wonderful garden on Open Gardens. While…...
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