• For vegetables, annuals, and perennials in the ground watering long once or twice a week is better than daily short watering. The water needs to soak into the soil down where the roots are. To check take a trowel or shovel and make a divot. If it’s moist in the root zone (5-6 inches) you don’t need to water. The standard is an inch a week but in this heat that may not be enough especially in a sunny area.
• The amount of watering will depend on the amount of sun and wind the area gets and how porous the soil is. In my garden some places in this extreme heat need watering every 4 days others in the shade maybe once a week or less.
• For those recently planted perennials and annuals, they will need water more often that established plants as their roots aren’t well established.

Dear Gardening Friends,

• Thanks to so many of you who came to my plant sale. It was such fun to see everyone, and it was a perfect day after a very hot week.
• The weather continues to be challenging. Looks like we’re in for more high heat and dry weather. Because of the forecast I have stopped dividing and moving pants except for ones located in the shade. It’s just too stressful on them. Planting potted plants from a nursery is still OK.
• You often read about shading newly planted plants or waiting to plant for a cloudy day with rain forecasted but that’s been tough lately. A way to improve success is to cover the plant with a box or bushel basket for 2-3 days depending on how sunny/cloudy it is. An old umbrella put at the right angle works as well. This is the first year I’ve done this, and the results are amazing. Bushel Baskets or cardboard boxes work well as they don’t hold in the heat as much as a plastic tote would.
• If you do divide or plant a perennial, it’s best to cut off any blooms. This gives the plant energy to set in roots as opposed to trying to keep flowers going.
• Pinch back perennials that get very tall to reduce the final height and promote branching and increase bloom. Common plants for this are phlox, asters, mums and sedum.
• Watch out for slugs and snails. There are many products on the market that are not toxic, yet effective at getting rid of slugs and snails. I hand pick everyone I see but with gloves or a paper towel. The slug slime is extremely difficult to wash off your hands. I can attest to this firsthand! Once you make that mistake you won’t do it again.
• Be alert for any insect issues you have had in the past. As soon as you notice damage, take action. Identify what the insect is and research the best and most ecological way to deal with it. It’s much easier to control at the onset than once a lot of damage is done.
• I’ve been hearing a lot about aphid invasions. Luckily, they are easily taken care of. Wait a few days and see if ladybugs and other insects that eat aphids come and take care of them. If not squirt them with a strong hose nozzle and that will knock most of them off and kill them. You will need to repeat this every few days. If that doesn’t take care of it put a squirt of Dawn in a spray bottle and spray the little buggers. This combination has always worked for me. 
• Any newly planted or moved plants should be watered almost daily depending on how much sun they are in. It’s best to water them before they get droopy as drying out saps their strength and makes them weak. Early morning or evening are the best times to water. Once their roots are well established, they will be more tolerant of dry periods.
• Weeding is a huge priority. Don’t let them get ahead of you. Once they are well established weeds are much more difficult to remove and they drop seeds to make more weeds for you to deal with. Once you weed, a good layer of mulch will help hold down the weeds and keep moisture from evaporating as quickly.
• The deer tick population is increasing as has the incidence of Lymes disease. People are finding them in their gardens. Wherever there are deer and black footed mice there is a chance of ticks. For complete information and suggestions check out the Department of Health in Erie County’s website: http://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=ticks-lyme-disease. It has a video of how to remove a tick and info on how to prevent as well as identify.

 
I’m happy to say we are starting up classes for making hypertufa planters and concrete birdbaths, stepping stones, and draped concrete containers. The cost is $30 and you get to make 2. If interested contact me and we can work out a convenient time.
 
Now is the time you may be having problems or questions about your garden. Don’t forget to contact me for a garden consult. I can answer your questions and help improve your garden and gardening practices Which will save you time ad money.
 
 
Happy Gardening!
Lyn Chimera
Lessons from Nature
170 Pine St.
E. Aurora, NY 14052
lyn@lessonsfromnature.biz
652-2432

Dear Gardening Friends,

• Patience is still the best approach. The soil is quite cold and it’s way too soon to even think about planting annuals. Many greenhouses have perennials and annuals out for sale. If you by an annual keep it in a sheltered place until it’s time to plant.

• If you leave a footprint on the soil that’s a sign the soil is too wet to work in. It’s easy to compact the soil with every footfall so stay off until things dry out.

• It’s helpful to have paths or steppingstones in gardens so you can navigate without harming the soil. If a path isn’t appropriate a few rocks or steppingstones placed appropriately are practical and attractive.

• RECYCLE pots, treys & blinds here. I can use pots 4 inches and up and flat carrying treys. No 6 packs. Also, if you are discarding any Venetian blinds or see some in the garbage, please save them for me. I use the blinds for price tags for the plant sale and won’t have many left after this year. Just drop them off in front of the garage. The address is below.

NOTE: For those of you in Amherst who are used to dropping things off at 37 N. Union, The property has been sold so please don’t drop pots off there. THANKS!!!!
 
Now is the time to make changes and improvements in your garden. I can help improve your garden and gardening practices and guarante to save you time and money. Also check out my website for past Garden Tips and articles: lessonsfromnature.biz.
 
 
Upcoming Plant Sales & Events: Put them on your calendar now!
 
            Lessons from Nature and Amanda’s Garden Native and Perennial Plant Sale.
            Saturday, May 22^th, 9:00 – 2:00.  170 Pine St., E Aurora, corner of Pine & Lawrence.
Clients and those of you who get my tips can come at 8:00 and beat the rush. We will have a larger variety of native plants on that one day than anywhere in WNY.  All my plants are dug fresh from my garden and those from Amanda’s Garden are started from seed by Ellen. Fultz, the owner. I will also have a selection of hypertufa containers, draped concrete planters and birdbaths. A partial list of what plants is at the end of these tips. Since it’s been so cold and rainy, I’ve only started potting up and some plants haven’t even come up yet. So, in addition to the list there will be more surprises.
 
            Note: all my plants will be potted in soilless potting mix due to the threat of the Asian jumping worm. If you’re not aware of this threat you can get information at: http://ulster.cce.cornell.edu/environment/invasive-pests/jumping-worm
 
 
Master Gardener Plant Sale, Friday May 228, 8:30 – 3:00, Saturday May 29, 8:30 – 2:00, First Presbyterian Church, 1 Symphony Circle, across from Kleinman’s. Perennials for sun and shade, natives, annuals, succulents, hypertufa and draped concrete pots, vegetable starts, herbs, shrubs and garden art. Plants are from MG gardens and donated by local nurseries.
 
East Aurora Garden Club Perennial Sale, Saturday, May 29^th 8:30 – till sold out.
In the Village plaza on Grey Street where Tops is. The sale is located under the roof overhang between TJ Max and Pet Smart. Plants from Garden Club member’s gardens, great selection.
 

Happy Gardening!
Lyn Chimera
Lessons from Nature
170 Pine St.
E. Aurora, NY 14052
lyn@lessonsfromnature.biz
652-2432
 
 
Partial Plant List for Perennial Sale 2021
 
Some varieties there are only 1 or 2 of, others quite a few. A few items aren’t even up yet so additional plants will be added during the weeks to come. First come first served.
 
Shrubs:
 
                                                           
Purple leaf sandcherry                                     Potentilla, Gold Drop
Lynwood Gold Forsythia                                 Hydrangea – Anabelle
Viburnum alnifolium
                                   
                                                           
 
Sun:
                                                                                                                                               
Monkshood                                                     Siberian iris (white & blue)                            
Perennial geranium                                          Shasta daisy                                         Sundrops                                                         Zig-zag goldenrod
Variety of asters                                              Tansy
            Phlox                                                               Obedient plant                                    
Black-Eyed-Susan                                           Coreopsis                               
Filipendula                                                      Graceful sedge                                    
                                                                                                                                                                       
Part Sun:
                                                           
Forget-Me-Not                                                Anemone – white, pink, & ruffled
Dwarf  Solomon’s seal variegated                   Candelabra primrose                                      
Ladies Mantle                                                  Kirengeshoma
Astilbe (dwarf)                                                Corydalis –Yellow & white                            
Astilbe – Ostrich                                             Blue lobelia                                        
Astilbe – variety of colors                                Sundrops
Golden ragwort                                               Bouncing Bet
Bachelor buttons                                                         
                                                                                                                                   
Shade:
                                                           
Dwarf Comfrey                                               Hosta – a few varieties, minis
Persicaria                                                         Primrose
Toad Lily – 2 varieties                                     Pulmonaria – a few varieties
European Ginger                                             Lenten Rose, white, pink & deep purple 
Curley Ginger                                                  Native ginger
Epimedium – pink & yellow                           Primula kisoana – rare variety
Twinleaf                                                          Ajuga                                     
Corydalis                                                         Astilboides tabularis   
Candelabra primrose                                       Soloman’s Seal - 3 varieties   
 
                                   
 
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                   
            Natives:
 
Evening Primrose                                            Tall Meadow Rue
Solomon’s Seal                                               Twinleaf
Ginger                                                             Golden Ragwort
Gold Star                                                         Amsonia
Viola - purple                                                  Big leaf aster
Wood anemone                                               Early Meadow Rue
Jack-in-the-pulpit                                            Ostrich fern
White Wood Aster                                           Wood Poppy
Snakeroot                                                        Creeping phlox
Tickseed                                                          Bloodroot
Filapendula                                                      White violet
Flowering raspberry                                        Lobelia – blue
Northern Sea Oats                                           White wood anemone
Waterleaf                                                         Zig-zag goldenrod                                          
Carolina Phlox                                                 Field goldenrod
            Asters – many varieties                                   Monkshood
Waterleaf                                                         Graceful sedge
Broad-leaf sedge                                                         
Shrub – viburnum alnifolium                                                  
                                                           

Dear Gardening Friends,

• Now is the perfect time to prune non spring flowering shrubs. Spring flowering shrubs should be pruned after they bloom.
• When pruning be sure not to leave stubs. Make cuts just over the place where a bud is coming out or if it’s a branch make the cut just outside the branch collar. (a rough section of bark where one branch joins the trunk)
• Dead branches can be removed anytime along with branches that are in the way.
• Before starting any pruning projects clean and sharpen your tools. It makes a huge difference. If the plant has had a disease, disinfect your pruner/lopper before moving to another plant or branch if just one branch is affected.
• I have noticed a lot of black knot fungus on flowering cherry and plum trees. It can affect ornamental and fruit bearing trees. The affected sections look like swollen black knots on the branches and should be pruned out 8 inches away from the “knot”. This is a highly contagious fungal disease so don’t ignore it. For information go to:

• Once the soil dries out a little you can rake or sweep up the road grit from driveway and road edges. If you do it when the soil is very wet the grass will be damaged. The same goes for raking leaves blown onto the lawn.  Patience is the basic recommendation. We’re all anxious to get going but doing things under the wrong conditions can cause damage.
• Gently rake up mulch/leaves that may be over areas where bulbs and early perennials like daylilies are poking through. I always leave some leaves as protection for late season snow & frost. We are bound to have some of both before consistently warmer weather arrives.
• Grasses should be cut back before the new growth starts so now is a good time. Wear long sleeves as they have “razor” edges which is why deer don’t eat them.
• This is a perfect time for “wishful thinking”. What changes do you want to make, plants to add, move, divide, or remove? First consider the site, light, type of soil etc. THEN research plants suited to that site.
• The soil should be above 50 degrees and form a loose clump in your hand before you start any moving or dividing. Again, patience pays off in the end. It’s doubtful we will be able to do anything other than clean up by the end of the month.
• If you’ve left plants up from last fall don’t be in a hurry to cut them back. Many beneficial insects overwinter or lay their eggs in the stems and litter around the crown. The same goes for leaf litter in the garden. There are a lot of insects and larva living in the ground litter. Just let it be.
• If you need advice on how to transplant, divide, prune, what to plant etc. contact me for a consultation. If, like me, you still have lots of areas of snow cover in your yard, wait until it’s gone to arrange a consultation.

 
Upcoming Plant Sales: Put them on your calendar now!
 

Lessons from Nature and Amanda’s Garden Native and Perennial Plant Sale.
Saturday, May 22nd, 9:00 – 2:00.  170 Pine St., E Aurora,
corner of Pine & Lawrence.

Clients and those of you who get my tips can come at 8:00 and beat the rush. We will have a larger variety of native plants on that one day than anywhere in WNY.  All my plants are dug fresh from my garden and those from Amanda’s Garden are started from seed by Ellen. Fultz, the owner. A listing of what plants will be available will be in the May Garden Tips and on my web site – lessonsfromnature.biz
 
Master Gardener Plant Sale, Friday May 21, 8:30 – 3:00, Saturday May 22, 8:30 – 2:00, First Presbyterian Church, 1 Symphony Circle, across from Kleinhans. Perennials and annuals for sun and shade, natives, succulents, hypertufa and draped concrete pots, vegetable starts, herbs, shrubs and garden art.
 
Educational Opportunity:
 
Master Gardener Education Day, Saturday, March 13 from 9:00am – 12:45pm.  
You won’t want to miss this great opportunity to hear 2 outstanding speakers from the comfort of your own home. This past week I had the opportunity to have a “test run” with both presenters and am really excited about their presentations.
 
This year’s Education Day will be a shot in the arm for the winter blahs as well as being very entertaining and educational. There will be 2 presentations:
 
Rick Darke - Co-author with Doug Tallamy of The Living Landscape will present Dynamic Design and Stewardship of Living Landscapes.
  
Paul Zammit, professor at Niagara College in Ontario, past Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Gardens and international speaker will present: Planning and Planting for All Seasons.
 
If you haven’t registered yet you need to do so by this Wed.. 
Fees: Erie County Master Gardener - $25; Other Master Gardener &CNLP - $30; Public - $35
Registration is required! Register at erie.cce.cornell.edu/events.
 
Don’t forget to contact me for a garden consult. I can help improve your garden and gardening practices.
           
Happy Gardening!
Lyn Chimera
Lessons from Nature
170 Pine St.
E. Aurora, NY 14052
lyn@lessonsfromnature.biz
652-2432
 
 
 
 

Dear Gardening Friends,
Our weather has been anything but consistent. We have snow cover here in the south towns while the north towns have very little. For those of you longing for spring there are some great gardening events coming up. Details are at the end of this newsletter.

Garden Chores:
- Due to the lack of consistent snow cover, it is important to protect your tender and newly planted perennials. If you didn’t gather pine boughs after Christmas, you can use leaves or get some straw.
- With all the temperature fluctuations this winter there is bound to be some heaving of plants. Do not just step on the root base to reposition them. If the soil is not frozen carefully dig the uprooted plant back into the soil and cover with mulch for added protection. If the soil is too frozen to replant use a thick covering of mulch (leaves work well) to protect the roots until replanting is possible.
- If you are having ice build-up in driveways and sidewalks be cautious of what you use to melt the ice. Salt can be very damaging to the soil and plants.
- It would be wise to shovel the black nasty salt laden “gunk” in the driveway somewhere other than garden beds. My back garden abuts the driveway so this is always an issue for me. I used to wonder why the plants along the drive never did well! It’s a little more effort, but worth it.
- It’s a good time to pick up sticks and debris.
- If you didn’t clean and sharpen your tools last fall now is a perfect time. They will be ready to go when you need them in the spring.

Pruning:
- Usually this would be a good time to prune but with the probability of more freezing weather I would suggest waiting till the temperatures moderate a little, especially for shrubs. If you prune now and we get a bout of freezing temps it may cause some die back on the newly pruned stems which you would need to be pruned back come spring.
- The exception to this is any tree or shrub that has been damaged or broken. Those branches should be removed.
- The ideal time to prune non spring blooming trees & shrubs is while they are still dormant and their buds have not begun opening.
- For details on pruning specific plants check online or contact me for a pruning consultation.

Houseplants:
- Now is a good time to spend some time with your houseplants. A mid- winter “shower” in the sink or bathtub would wash off the accumulated dust and make for a healthier plant.
- Now that the days are getting longer you can resume a light plant food application. If you use fertilizer look for a natural rather than chemical formula. Just read the ingredients.
- You can also start spring repotting houseplants that have become pot bound. If the water drains right through when you water it or if the roots are pushing the plant out of the pot, those are good signs that the plant is pot bound.
- Another sign to indicate repotting is crusty salt build up on the top of the soil. This residue may be on the outside of terra cotta pots as well. The pots can be scrubbed off before repotting.
- Also check for aphids, mealybugs and other houseplant pests. A good soapy water bath is a solution to many problems.

Educational Opportunities: There are lots of events coming up that will
help you learn and get into the mood for spring.

MG Education Day:
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County Master Gardener Program Presents Virtual 2021 Education Day Saturday, March 13 from 9:00am – 12:45pm. This year’s Education Day will be a shot in the arm for the winter blahs as well as being very entertaining and educational. There will be 2 presentations:
 
Rick Darke - Co-author with Doug Tallamy of The Living Landscape will present Dynamic Design and Stewardship of Living Landscapes.
 
This richly illustrated talk will present ideas for plant selection, design and care of home landscapes that are beautiful and joyfully livable. Our garden is our home habitat. For most of us, it is the landscape we spend the most time in. When designed to support a great variety of life, it will be full of surprise, and add intrigue, beauty, and interest to every day. The presentation will feature Rick's own high-resolution photos of gardens and designs that have proven to be practical, durable, conserving, and affordable.
 
Paul Zammit, professor at Niagara College in Ontario, past Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Gardens and international speaker will present: Planning and Planting for All Seasons.
 
Who puts a garden to bed, and why would you? For Paul, gardens do not have a yearly start or end date. He believes that they transition from one season of display to the next, including winter. Each season has its shining stars and Paul will highlight some of his favorites during his lively and energetic presentation. Join Paul, as he shares his passion for plants and other possible garden additions while taking us on a journey through the seasons where he will remind us how we can all plan and plant a garden with year-round appeal.
 
The schedule for the day will be:
9:00 – 9:15: Welcome and introductions
9:15 – 10:30: Paul Zammit presentation
10:30 – 11:00: Q&A for Paul Zammit
11:00 – 12:15: Rick Darke presentation
12:00 – 12:45: Q&A for Rick Darke, Closing comments
 
Fees: Erie County Master Gardener - $25; Other Master Gardener &CNLP - $30; Public - $35
Registration is required! Register at  erie.cce.cornell.edu/events .

Communities in Bloom Spring Garden Classes
These classes will also be held virtually via ZOOM. There are 3 sessions, you can attend one or all three.

Dates:
Tuesday, February 9, 6:30 – 8:00 pm - What Gardeners Need to Know About Insects and Diseases – Covers the most common insect and disease problems and what to do about them.
Thursday, February 18, 6:30 – 8:00 pm  - Growing Fruits and Vegetables. Whether you are a beginner or well experienced vegetable gardener this program is for you.
Saturday, February 27,   10:00 – 11:30 am - Meatballs, Volcanoes and Other Garden Malpractices – How to avoid the most common and damaging gardening practices.

Fees are: $15 for an individual class and $40 for all three. Registration is required. Check the website to register: http://erie.cce.cornell.edu/events

Since both programs will be virtual, we are not bound by space limitations. Please share this information on Facebook or other social media. The more the merrier!!

If you want to learn how to prune or get a jump on planning for this season’s garden, contact me for a garden consult. We would meet outside and wearing masks. I can help improve your garden and gardening practices.

Happy Gardening!
Lyn Chimera
Lessons from Nature
170 Pine St.
E. Aurora, NY 14052
lyn@lessonsfromnature.biz
652-2432