by Colleen Morrissey, herb manager and container designer at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses If you love salad and enjoy gardening, plant a “lettuce bowl” container garden. It’s a quick and easy project. You don’t need much space, so you can have a “lettuce bowl” container garden on a sunny balcony, front stoop or...
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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...
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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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“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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First you notice the color, then you notice the fragrance when you visit the gardens surrounding the home of Barbara and Howard Sperry on Ashland Ave. in Niagara Falls. Sometimes Barbara likes to shake the lavender and other plants to better enjoy the aroma. The Sperrys shared their garden, along with many gardening tips,...
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Jeff Leyonmark of Hamburg believes every gardener is an artist. In addition to gardening, they all seem to have other creative interests as well. They build or paint or cook. This artistic part of life is something that is important for Jeff to share with his children. “I want to bring art everywhere,” he...
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A new tomato this year is the Tomaccio, which has an intense, sugary flavor when eaten fresh or dried. Not only is the fruit supposed to be delicious, but the plant is a stunning specimen for your garden– it can grow to be nine feet tall! The plants at Lockwood’s Greenhouses are already four...
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Unused space on a roof has been turned into an herb garden at Kenmore Mercy Hospital in Kenmore, and it is adding fresh taste to meals there. “We’re trying to change institutional food,” said Kathy Kubiak-McAlpine, food service manager at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. “We want people to view it in a new light.” “It’s...
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Adventures in Organic Gardening By Laura Sileo-Lepkyj You know the “Set it and forget it” motto on the infomercial? That’s the kind of gardener I am. I set the plant in the ground and forget about it. I describe my method as survival-of-the-fittest gardening. No special coddling, practically zero watering, and certainly no umbrellas...
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Gardening doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. “I didn’t spend one cent on this garden,” said Dave Derner, who created a backyard retreat at 1088 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, where he lives above Half & Half Trading Co. He got plants that nurseries or co-ops were going to throw out. Friends gave him plants...
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