BUFFALO                        REGULAR CLUB MEETINGS African Violet & Gesneriad Society of WNY meets the third Tuesday of the month, September–August, at 7 p.m., Greenfield Health & Rehab Facility, 5949 Broadway, Lancaster. av*****@***il.com.  Alden Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month (except July and August) at 7 p.m., Alden Community Center, West Main St., Alden. New members and guests welcome.…
3.11.2026
When I came across this roasted vegetable galette online (cravingtasty.com/vegetable-galette), I knew I had to recreate it. The combination of the colorful root vegetables, savory cheeses, and flaky pastry was too good to pass up. I added my own touches and brought it to life in my kitchen. The result was well worth the effort. INGREDIENTS Pie crust: 1 1/2…
3.11.2026
Ornament making was my first craft with dried flowers, and it has become tradition to give them as Christmas gifts to close friends and family. The fillable ornaments can be found at craft stores or ordered online. I enjoy making a few carefully curated ones by myself with layers and delicate precision, but they are also a simple craft to…
3.11.2026
Often this article is about birds and how to attract them. However, if you’ve ever tried attracting birds by feeding them, you’ve probably had experiences with another creature that visits bird feeders—squirrels! Squirrels are one of the most common and entertaining animals found in the area. They are extremely acrobatic, can be found in a variety of habitats, and have…
3.11.2026
Fasciation on a coneflower Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons by Wikiway, CC BY-SA 4.0. A dandelion with two flowers from the same stalk Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons by Prosthetic Head, CC BY-SA 4.0. Recently I received some pictures from a woman who was both concerned and mystified at the strange growth pattern of some flowers. (I was delighted.) The…
3.11.2026
Freshly harvested statice bunch. Harvest when the true flowers (white in center) begin opening. This year I grew Floret’s ‘Spun Sugar’ celosia. It dries with beautiful colors! It’s a bittersweet goodbye to the growing season for me. There’s always just one more flower about to bloom, and I’ll gather bouquets every day until the season’s frosty end. Then my knees…
3.11.2026
STORING WINTER SQUASH AND ROOT VEGETABLES Can you really just park that butternut squash on the counter? And what are the best ways to store root vegetables? When it comes to winter squash, “ideally, your basement is likely the better choice,” for storage, “as long as the squash is safe from rodents and it isn’t too humid down there,” says…
3.11.2026
In our last issue I shared that I was able to dry lots of lavender this season. But then I looked at Bonnie Warriner’s articles in this issue and realized my few bundles are really nothing compared to her dried flowers! I am constantly impressed by Bonnie’s gardening, crafting, and writing. We are pretty lucky to have her on our…
3.11.2026
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March/April, 2020 – Upstate Gardeners’ Journal

Spring migrants

by Liz Magnanti Male indigo bunting. Photo courtesy Flickr: Kelly Colgan Azar Mornings are starting to fill with the sounds of spring, and birds are beginning to be our alarm clocks as we progress into longer and warmer days. Over the next month or two, upstate New York will become a hotbed of migrating birds. …

Garden games

by Cathy Monrad Who doesn’t love lady bugs? Or bumblebees? Or a good game of Tic Tac Toe? This cute project from Alecia at chickenscratchny.com mashes up the three for a bit of garden fun for all ages. MATERIALSWood slice; 1-inch thick and 9–12 inches diameter10 smooth black river rocks; 5 round and 5 oblongAcrylic …

The beer garden

by John Boccacino Barone Gardens Having grown up on a family farm situated on South Bay Road in Cicero, John Barone admits that farming was probably “in his blood” from an early age. Producing mostly onions, Barone embraced his family’s ties to farming and started a retail farm market in 1987 that quickly morphed into …

Mr. Tilly’s garden: Laying down tracks

story and photos by Christine Froehlich Learning is designed to be fun here—the only hard part is deciding what you want to see first When Paul Tilly was a kid, he longed for a train set. “I grew up on a busy farm and there just wasn’t time for playing with trains,” he said. Besides …

Almanac: What to do in the garden in March & April

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