I walked into my basement this weekend and was surprised to see that my amaryllis bulbs were leafing out.
I shouldn’t have been surprised; this is precisely what they were supposed to do. I am forcing them to bloom indoors so I can enjoy gorgeous flowers in the middle of winter.
But out of sight, out of mind. I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice their activity until the leaves were quite long and I had a flower bud.
If you’ve tucked your pots of amaryllis bulbs in an out-of-the-way corner, go check on them. It may be time to give them some water and place them in a sunny window.
Get tips here on forcing amaryllis bulbs.
Also, check out the special garden feature on amaryllis and cymbidiums being held now through Feb. 17 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Avenue, Buffalo. It is included with admission.
Photo by Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com
Town of Marilla to hold its first Green Education Day
Free seminars will be offered as part of the Town of Marilla’s Green Education Day on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Marilla Community Center, 1810 Two Rod Road, Marilla. The event is sponsored by the Marilla Conservation Advisory Board.
Learn alternative methods of gardening and become aware of ecological and environmental practices and how these practices affect our everyday lifestyles.
The schedule is:
- 10:45 a.m., introduction & announcements presented by Marian Prezyna, member of the Conservation Advisory Board
- 11 a.m., “The Keys of Gardening Organically” presented by Lyn Chimera, owner of Lessons from Nature
- Noon, “Becoming Eco-Friendly in Your Yard and Garden” presented by Sally Cunningham, CNLP, author and director of the National Garden Festival
- 1 p.m., “Managing Invasive Species of Flora in Rural Landscapes” presented by Paul Fuhrmann, Natural Restoration & Invasive Species Specialist at PRISM
- 2 p.m., “Establishing Bluebird Habitat in Your Backyard” presented by Mark Carra, Staff Naturalist at the Buffalo Audubon Society
- 3 p.m. “Home Canning for Today” presented by Debbie Beats, CCE 4H Volunteer and member Conservation Advisory Board.
Refreshments are available for purchase. RSVP’s are appreciated but not required.
Find more information, call Debbie at (716) 597-6723 or Marian at (716) 435-6084, go to Facebook or see the Town of Marilla website.
Computer help is available for your gardening friends
I often talk to people who tell me they have to print out information from Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com for a friend or relative who doesn’t use computers. Or they tell me they wish members of their gardening club could subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, but those folks don’t have the basic computer skills they need.
The Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries are offering a series of free computer classes to help people learn how to use computers, email and the Internet. The classes cover different topics and are offered at various branches. Please tell your gardening friends about the classes so they will be able to access all the great gardening information that is available online.
Bonus tip: You can subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com even if you don’t own a computer. Libraries have computers you can use for free!
Photo by Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com
Winners announced in Botanical Gardens Photo Contest
Erin Morris won first place in the architecture category of the 2012 photo contest held by the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens for her photo seen above.
Other winners were:
- Margery Muniak, Architecture, second place
- Marie Duke, Architecture, third place
- Eileen Graetz, Outrageous Color, first place
- Mary Lynn Allen, Outrageous Color, second place
- Kristin Lotz, Outrageous Color, third place
- Donald Blain, Unexpected Inspiration, first place
- Stephen Rinaldo. Unexpected Inspiration, second place
- Rebecca Schafer, Unexpected Inspiration, third place
- Tina Bidwell, who will have her photo published as the cover of the next Botanical Gardens’ newsletter.
See all the winning photos here.
It is indeed a photo with unexpected inspiration! I hope people click through to see all the winning photos.
They are all wonderful photos. Rebecca’s is so nice – especially with the name of our city. Maybe someone can use it in connection with all the garden tours in the area?