I don’t know why everyone doesn’t grow the Jerusalem artichoke, also known as sunchoke. This plant starts out from nothing and grows a dramatic ten feet tall in one season. It flowers in September, adding autumn interest to your garden. You can plant it in fall, so it gives you a chance to putter...
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The chrysanthemum has been enjoyed for thousands of years. It was cultivated as a flowering herb in China as far back as the 15th Century B.C., according to the National Chrysanthemum Society. The City of Buffalo is a mere upstart compared to ancient China, but we have enjoyed chrysantheums throughout our history, too. For...
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“All of this is to teach our children where food comes from,” said Tricia Miller, volunteer coordinator for the Giving Garden at Union-Pleasant Elementary School in Hamburg. “If children grow it and taste it, their willingness to eat it and try more things grows.” The garden at Union-Pleasant Elementary School started three years ago...
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The sunflower is wonderful in so many ways. If you’re not growing them now, there are many reasons why you should consider growing sunflowers next year. They have beautiful flowers. Sunflowers grow rapidly and reach a magnificent height. They offer food for people and wildlife. They blossom from summer to fall. You start sunflowers...
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You’ve nurtured your annuals all summer long, but you know that it won’t be long now before we have a frost in the Buffalo area that will mark the end of these lovely plants. In the how-to video below, Anne, a Buffalo gardener, shows you how to take cuttings inside for the winter so...
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Garden mums aren’t annuals, but they’re not exactly perennials, either. They will come back next year– if you take the proper steps and are lucky. “They’re called garden mums (rather than perennial or hardy mums) because sometimes they don’t winter over,” explained Ron Heimiller, president and head grower at Heimiller Greenhouses in Newfane. Whether...
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Yes, Labor Day is over, but there are still new flowers to plant! If you forgot to water this summer and your flowers are fried, or if you just need a spot of color here or there for fall, look for winter pansies. Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Amherst, has them in...
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The right tool for the job can make your work easier. If you grow herbs, check out the fun selection of herb tools available at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd. (between Main St. and Wehrle Dr.), Williamsville. Cut your sprigs into strips or mince away with a multiblade scissor. Use the rocking...
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“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...
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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...
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