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*****@gm***.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. Plant sale each…

Flower frogs are a helpful tool to assist with arranging flowers because they keep the stems in place. They date back to fourteenth century Japan, became popular here in the early 1900s, then fell out of style when floral foam became the rage in the late 1950s. With the growing problem of microplastics in the environment, taking a step back…

Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Photo by Joe Schneid, Louisville, Kentucky, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Hummingbirds are incredible little birds with amazing adaptations. During flight they beat their wings anywhere between seventy and 200 times per second, which gives off the humming sound they are named for. They can hover, fly backwards and straight up and down, and are even known…

Chandra and Chip when they were about six weeks old. They're now six months old, and they are going to be making their library debut this month! In Dr. Sandra Boysen Sluberski’s backyard, the cluck of chickens mixes with the hum of daily life, a rhythm that reflects her own harmony between music, mindfulness, and her hens. Boysen Sluberski’s chickens…

Life is busy, and one great way to simplify mealtime is to prep the day before. Overnight oats have been on-trend for a while now, and for good reason. One small mason jar is packed with fiber, protein, and nutrients. Berries are abundant this time of year, so feel free to swap the blueberries out for strawberries or pitted cherries. …

I discovered a beautiful specimen of ‘Spotty Dotty’ podophyllum growing at Trebah Gardens in Cornwall, England. On my travels throughout the years, I’ve noticed an unusual shade plant with large spotted leaves. My first encounter was in Ireland when I visited Lakemount Gardens just north of Cork. It turned up again in the fifteen-acre garden of Janet Blair in New…

Field of goldenrod The foliage is growing old;  All through the verdure gleams the gold;  The rose is turning into mold;  But golden rod stands ev’rywhere. Excerpt from “The Golden Rod” by Samuel Alfred Beadle When the summer heat begins to give way to cool nights, waves of goldenrod (Solidago spp.) blooms erupt in fields, meadows, roadsides, and gardens that…

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens SAP TAP FARMS INTRODUCES SUSTAINABLE WOOL PELLETS  Sap Tap Farms is partnering with local sheep farmers to produce a natural, slow-release fertilizer alternative made from wool pellets. The small family-owned farm in Bloomfield uses raw sheep fleece that would otherwise be wasted to make wool pellets that can hold about twenty times their weight…

First two strawberries from the garden If you’re like me, you are knee-deep in weeds. It seems like one day we’re anxiously watching little sprouts emerge in May and June then suddenly its July and August and we’re enjoying lush plants, flowers, and weeds, of course.  But there is a lot of joy in those hot days weeding, grooming, and…