There’s nothing like a freshly picked tomato, and tomatoes are easy to grow everywhere in the Buffalo area. You don’t even need a garden– a very simple container will do. Thomas Mitchell, a horticulture teacher at Niagara County Community College, shared tips on growing vegetables during a presentation at Plantasia, Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show held in March. Mitchell’s number one point was that you have to have good soil. I demoted that tip to number two…...
We promised to tell you more about annuals that will work well in your Buffalo area garden. Today we’re going to talk about a black annual, a drought-tolerant annual and a shade annual with colorful leaves. Bonus: If you love impatiens for shade, try a new variety that you can plant in sun. These tips are shared by the staff at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg, NY 14075. Lockwoods will exhibit at Plantasia, which will be held at the…...
Fairy gardens have such a wide appeal, it’s easy to see why they’ve become such a hot new trend in the Buffalo area. Fairy gardens are great for people with limited space, for people who want to share gardening with a child, or for people who just like being creative. “Basically, a fairy garden is a miniature garden planted in a container or in the landscape,” explained Mark Yadon, vice president at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd.,…...
In a previous article, we told you that using annuals in your Buffalo area garden can help give you constant bloom. Today we’ll tell you about three more great annuals that work well in containers. These suggestions were provided by the staff at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg, NY 14075. Mandevilla “These are some of the best plants you can have,” said Jill Kisker, grower at Lockwood’s. The flowers of the mandevilla have a lovely shape and come in…...
My garden is built around perennials, and I would recommend that strategy to anyone. But this year I vow to use more annuals. Yes, perennials are great because they stay in your garden year after year–you don’t have to spend money buying them every year. Plus, they tend to spread. You can start with a small garden and expand it from year to year. The problem with perennials is that while the plants are there all year, the blossoms come…...
“I love the lights,” said Rosie Dubravac of 74 Simon St., Buffalo. That’s why she opened her yards for the Starry Night Garden Tour, the evening portion of the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens on Saturday, Aug. 6. It was the last garden walk of the season in Western New York. Dubravac welcomed many visitors, who enjoyed the well-lit front and back yards. The tall lighted ornament you see in the front yard above left is a sunflower…....
The gladiolus, which is blooming in many Buffalo-area gardens now, is the birthday flower for August. I’m told you’re supposed to plant gladiolus bulbs in spring. That explains why they didn’t come up the first time I planted them– I planted them in the fall. After that fiasco, I again planted gladioluses (the plural is gladioluses, gladioli or sometimes gladiolas). The only reason I tried them again was because I got bulbs as a gift. (Technically, gladioluses have corms, not…...
Many gardeners feel they must get their garden planted by Memorial Day weekend or they’ve missed some sort of deadline. They think that if they go to a garden center now, they’ll see nothing but shriveled-up specimens on a discount table. Surprise! It’s still planting season in Buffalo and Western New York, and garden centers are full of fresh, new perennials and trees that you can plant right now. Plus, you get instant color and instant flowers because these fully…...
The flowers in the garden beds are beautiful, but it’s the flowers painted on the lawn that get noticed first at the home of Karen and Bernie Farrell of 78 Brunswick, Lancaster. The flowers were painted by Karen, who has started her own business called Lawntastic, where she does custom painting on lawns. Their front yard was on display during the eighth annual Lancaster Garden Walk on Saturday and Sunday, July 16 and 17. Karen got the idea for her…...
When Jim Tarantino moved 22 years ago into his home at 1069 Eggert Rd., Amherst, there wasn’t much of a garden. His major concern was erosion in the part of the backyard that slopes down to what is now Kadimah School of Buffalo. He built the retaining wall and planted whatever he could to hold down the soil, happily accepting cuttings from other gardeners. In the photo at left, these lovely plantings are actually outside his fence; his yard is to…...
© 2012 Buffalo-Niagara Gardening. All rights reserved.