After having their house built five years ago, Paul and Debbie Acquisto of 270 South Lane, Grand Island, enlisted the help of landscapers to get them started with their garden design. They shared their gardens during the Grand Island Garden Tour, a new garden walk that was part of the National Garden Festival this year. It was held July 6 and 7. Even though they worked with landscapers, the couple didn’t attempt to do everything at once. Every year they…
Tag: Water Features
Peaceful backyard will join 30 other yards on Hamburg garden walk
“My favorite time is the morning and night,” said Marg Rust as she surveyed the garden beds in her backyard at 71 Rosedale, Hamburg. “That’s when you get the filtered sun reflected off the pond. It’s so peaceful. “It’s good for the psyche and the soul to surround yourself with things that are beautiful.” She pointed out a pond plant, which you can see in the first photo. The plant at the bottom left with a spikey ball at the…
Cheektowaga gardener stays organized with careful notes
Chet Okonczak can tell you the name of every plant in his garden, and if he’s not sure of a name, he can easily look it up. Organized in a three-ring photo album are hand-drawn maps of each plant in the six beds in his backyard at 38 Brentwood, Cheektowaga. On the same page are photos of that bed at various times of the year. In the pocket on the back of the page he keeps the plant tags so…
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…
Pond in Buffalo evolved from space that held garage for Model T Ford
How this pond was created is a long story that involves a garage built for a Model T Ford, two kids’ fascination with WWI and a couple who know how to rescue great items from the trash. The story starts in 1995 at the home of Michelle and Jim Schmitt at 253 Crowley Avenue in the Riverside area of Buffalo.They had an old garage that had been built for a Model T. It even held some Model T parts, including…
Cherry blossom festival is budding in Buffalo’s Japanese Garden
by Connie Oswald Stofko Just as they do in the United States, the cherry trees in Japan bloom first in the southern part of the country and later in the north. Visitors enjoy the spectacular views and accompanying celebrations, and some tourists follow the festivities from south to north during the cherry blossom season. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for tourists in this country to be able to do the same thing? Washington, D.C. already holds the huge National Cherry Blossom…
Cash prizes offered in photo contest, & more items too good to miss
Cash prizes offered in Jamestown Audubon Society’s photo contest The Jamestown Audubon Society’s Nature Photography Contest offers prizes in three categories and two divisions. The youth division is for ages 8-18 or still in high school and the adult division is for ages 18 and over or post-high school. Youth and adult winners in the categories of landscapes, plants, and wildlife will all receive a $100 cash prize as well as free photo finishing. “Every winner receives a cash prize,”…
Need a gift for a gardener? Here are 5 great ideas
People who want to buy a gift for a gardener often don’t know what to get. They see an item that they think might be nice, but then wonder if it’s really useful or whether the gardener already has it. Today we’re going to give you five suggestions for gifts that gardeners will love. (If you are a gardener, feel free to drop a few hints by sending this article to someone you love. Or, print out the article and…
5 tips for your late autumn garden and more items too good to miss
Five tips for the late autumn garden There is still plenty that you can do in your garden, including planting! Here are a few things you can accomplish in your garden right now. They come to us from Jeff Salmon, president of Arbordale Nurseries & Landscaping, 480 Dodge Road, Getzville. The soil is still warm and you can still plant. Late fall plantings will continue to root and establish themselves, so you’ll be farther ahead if you plant now than…
Pond classes, Q&A & more items too good to miss
Pond winterization & other free classes set at Arbordale Classes on pond winterization, pruning and landscape design will be held at Arbordale Nurseries and Landscaping, 480 Dodge Road, Getzville. The 45-minute classes are free with pre-registration. To register, email info@arbordale.com or call 688-9125. Pond Winterization 6 p.m. today and repeated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 You’ll learn what to do with pond equipment, fish care, cleaning and plant care, and a few old wives’ tales will be bashed. …