BUFFALO - ITHACA - ROCHESTER - SYRACUSE
Mid-summer confessions Dandelion gummy candy Garden Walk Buffalo
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Volume Thirty-two, Issue Four July-August 2026
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SCAN
ME
Contents
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jane F. Milliman MANAGING EDITOR: Christine Green GRAPHIC DESIGN: Cathy Monrad TECHNICAL EDITOR: Brian Eshenaur CIRCULATION: Kieley Tabone CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: BONNIE WARRINER | LIZ MAGNANTI CAROLYN SPERRY | CATHY MONRAD
From the editor ...............................................................5 Around the garden .................................................... 6–7 Mid-summer confessions....................................... 10–12 Garden Walk Buffalo................................................ 14–17
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Backyard habitat ..................................................... 18–19 Calendar...................................................................20–24
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From the garden........................................................... 26
We appreciate your patronage of our advertisers, who enable us to bring you this publication. All contents copyright 2026, Upstate Gardeners’ Journal. On the cover: Bee balm, yarrow, and agastache in Jasper, NY by Bonnie Warriner
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From the editor My garden is doing wonderfully this summer. The flowers are stunning due to the extra sun they get since we removed a large diseased maple tree. I made a small little container pond that I cannot get enough of—having coffee in the garden listening to the tiny waterfall is my morning ritual. I’m also excited that those pesky lily leaf beetles have finally left the scene of their previous crimes, and my pink lily is looking pretty good with multiple blooms. But a new type of pest has entered the garden: chipmunks. I’ve tried sprinkling cayenne, but the little buggers seem to like a spicy kick when eating my strawberries. I’ve also added bars of Irish Spring everywhere; they bubble and froth every time I water or we get a good rain. My latest trick is plastic snakes placed along their path of travel and under and around everything they might nibble or dig up. I’ve also shut down their favorite restaurant (the birdfeeder) in hopes they pack up and move to a location with better amenities. Of course, that means my backyard birds are none too pleased. Hopefully I’ll be able to refill it again once Chip and Dale and their buddies move on—fingers crossed. Hit me with your best chipmunk control ideas (just not deadly ones!) at cgreen@585mag.com. ABOVE: Christine Green at the Isabella Stewart Gardener museum in Boston. Photo by Kelly Myers
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STANDS BY ME APP
ABOVE: Cornell Cooperative Extension Monroe County office entrance; photo by Laura Harder
OPPOSITE TOP Aerial view of the Floating Garden on the Erie Canal in Medina, NY. Photo by Amanda Reis. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Ground view of the Floating Garden on the Erie Canal in Medina, NY. Photo courtesy of Mary Mattingly.
6 | MAY-JUNE 2026
The idea for the Stands By Me app took root during a bike ride through the back roads of the Finger Lakes. Many farm stands have wonderful things for sale, says app creator Brent Bivona, but often they only have homemade signs to try to bring in customers. Many stands have no online presence at all, or they advertise through social media posts that easily get buried. “We want people to discover farm stands, roadside stands, markets, community pantries, and local growers they may have never known existed. The more people shop local, the more we can help support families, small businesses, and local agriculture.” Stands By Me helps users find farm stands and small local producers close to them. The search feature helps locate locally grown produce, eggs, honey, cut flowers, meat, baked goods, and more. The app covers much of New York State and is expanding to other states and into Canada. Bivona has become passionate about helping people discover ways to support local food, and to connect with the people growing it. He hopes that the app will have a broader impact. Community food pantries are being added to the app and supported, he says. “That’s something that means a lot to me because it’s such an important way for communities to help each other,” he says. He’s also happy that young entrepreneurs running stands are using the app to attract business. “There’s a strong community layer building around it, not just a marketplace,” Bivona says. You can use the app to follow your favorite stands and send them messages to confirm what’s available before you go.
Bivona and his team have plans in the works for Farm Stand Hops and other community challenges, and they have already added some fun engagement features. The app is accessible instantly on iPhone and Android with no app store download needed. standsbyme.app facebook.com/StandsByMeApp
GARDENING HELPLINE
If you need expert to help you tackle your gardening problems, a friendly team of Master Gardeners are a phone call—or an email—away. At the Gardening HelpLine, Cornell Master Gardeners of Monroe County help answer garden questions and solve problems using up-to-date and evidence-based advice. Master Gardener Laura Harder has worked on the helpline for eleven years, and she loves helping people with their gardening challenges. “Give me a good bug question and I’m on the case.” The HelpLine gets a huge range of inquiries, from questions about grass and lawn care to vegetable gardening, flowers, pests, and plant diseases. Callers sometimes want help identifying plants, or recommendations about what plants to grow in their garden, and the Master Gardeners are happy to help. As for the people calling in, the gardeners are as varied as their gardens. “Some folks are beginners, some more advanced. I often get questions for confirmation of what they heard or found on the web,” Harder says. She values being part of the team at Cornell Cooperative Extension, which people can rely on as a trusted source. Reach the helpline by phone or email: (585) 753-2555; monroemg@cornell.edu April through October, help is available Monday– Friday 9 a.m. to noon. November through March, you can call Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. monroe.cce.cornell.edu/horticulture/gardening-helpline
Each county’s Cornell Cooperative Extension office supports and provides resources for gardeners in its own way. To find Master Gardeners near you please check our calendar or yearly directory. To learn evenn more about what’s available locally, check out your local office here: cals.cornell.edu/cornell-cooperative-extension/localoffices
THE FLOATING GARDEN
Medina, NY is currently the site of a very special exhibit. The Floating Garden, built on a repurposed industrial barge, is docked for the summer on the Erie Canal behind the Medina Triennial Hub. Created by artist Mary Mattingly and building on her “Swale” public art project in New York City, the Floating Garden is both
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aand a work of art and a community garden. It is intended to serve as a free, accessible community resource where visitors can forage for herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Visitors can board the floating platform to harvest fresh, free food, but also to learn about ecology and waterway access, and see pollinators like butterflies enjoying the plants. “A food forest on water is a sanctuary,” says Mattingly. “Philosopher Michel Foucault says the garden is ‘the smallest parcel of the world and then it is the totality of the world.’” Medina was chosen for many reasons, but partly because Orleans County is “in the heart of a region that grows food for much of the Northeast but where residents face some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the state,” Mattingly explains. She would like visitors to re-envision the Erie Canal as a food corridor and hopes that this project will lead people to ask “why free public access to food is still so rare, and what it might look like if it weren’t.” She has enjoyed her experience working with the people in Medina, she says, and she appreciates the relationships she’s built with the many people who have worked hard to bring this exhibit to life. Find the Floating Garden docked behind the Medina Triennial Hub at 345 N. Main Street. The exhibition runs as part of the inaugural Medina Triennial from June 6 through September 7. Admission is free, but visitors are encouraged to register in advance for a time to visit the Floating Garden and other Triennial exhibits.
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Seasonal stakeout
Mid-summer confessions of a budding flower farmer
Story and photos by Bonnie Warriner
ABOVE: Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop) is a heat-loving perennial herb that brings in the pollinators. 10 | MAY-JUNE 2026
I
t’s gearing up to be another steamy summer day, and in temperatures more than seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit, my ambitions far exceed my energy for gardening. I find my habits in the heat follow my feline friends': languishing in the deep shade, lots of water, and most of my outdoor play at either end of a hot, sunny day.
But a gardener’s work is never done, even if the rising temperatures and humidity makes us feel that we are. I must admit, this article was hard for me to begin, even as my own idea. The topic seemed simple; beating the heat in the garden. But, as with most plant topics, how to beat the heat is subjective to what, and how, you are growing. My current dilemma? I’m
embarking on a new type of garden, and all my habits need adjusting. I am morphing from a landscape maintenance gal that tended gardens heavily populated with perennials and woody plants to beginning a cut flower farm in a converted corner of a hayfield. The soil? Nothing like I’d ever worked in Niagara and Erie counties. If there were a market for shale with a side of clay mud masks, I’d be a millionaire. But this is home, and garden—I must! When I say “corner of a hayfield” I’m not trying to be picturesque; we cut out the flattest edge of a field by a ditch (there’s no running water here) and the dirt road, turned it over with a plow, dumped several piles of finished barnyard compost on it, and began the longterm task of learning the land. Fast forward five years to this growing season, and I have found myself two thousand plus seedlings deep into a budding a cut flower farm, while slowly adding perennials and woodies for structure. I was very hesitant to garden the way I had grown to love prior to living on the farm. Perennials and woody plants can be a costly investment, so rather than my usual spring nursery raids, I began starting all my garden plants from seed, and for most of the plants I chose heatloving annuals. I never enjoy watching a plant struggle, but I knew this new garden would be a learning curve,
so I endeavored not lose a ton of money in garden lessons learned. The few shrubs I have added have been bare root plants from the wonderful Bare Root Barn at Turnbull Nursery in North Collins, New York. This way, I could let the dormant shrubs slowly wake up and acclimate to their new home on the edges of my gardens. Remember the bit about my garden being an old hayfield? That’s right, not a lick of shade in sight. And just after I had grown to love helping create beautiful shade gardens for my clients in the majestically treestudded city of Buffalo. Such is life; challenge accepted! When I think about the long, hot days ahead of me, as a gardener who wants to produce bouquets until frost, the hot times are, unfortunately, not the times to be resting with heat-loving annuals. I planted this year’s garden in waves after Memorial Day, mostly due to the undulating cool temperatures, and, in a way, this will yield more manageable, spaced out harvests as opposed to everything maturing at once. The best thing I’ve learned about growing a garden for cut flowers, is to ignore all the hype on social media, and grow at my own pace. We gardeners should know by now that any type of growing takes consistent, patient effort, and if I’m rushing to plant a ton of things to keep up with the social media Joneses,
TOP LEFT: ‘Giant Orange’ marigold (Tagetes erecta) is a summertime beast and produces consistent, large blooms for months. TOP RIGHT: Herbs are an easy to grow cut flower garden addition. Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a self-sowing herb that also returns from original plants. BOTTOM LEFT: Persian Carpet (Mexican) zinnias (Zinnia haageana), a delightful mini-size zinnia that looks terrific in summer bouquets. BOTTOM RIGHT: An August box of blooms for the farmers market
UPSTATE GARDENERS’ JOURNAL | 11
LEFT: You probably have some variety of high performing perennial salvia in your summer gardens. This is annual Salvia viridis ‘Pink Sundae’, commonly called clary sage. It is a bright addition to any garden, with the main color coming from its hot pink bracts. It can be cut for fresh and dried bouquets. RIGHT: Statice, gomphrena cut for dried flower crafts OPPOSITE: Eucalyptus and dahlias: Two heat-loving plants I never thought I’d grow, for their reputation is difficult. From seed, they’re both fairly easy, however both require a long growing season.
12 | MAY-JUNE 2026
gardening has lost its best therapeutic appeal which is to relax and enjoy growing. The second best thing I’ve learned about growing cut flowers is successional planting. This is when you plant the same type of flower, typically from seed, every week for several weeks, to have a longer lasting harvest season. There’s a whole list of flowers that are great to succession sow. I concentrate on my single cut sunflowers, cosmos, centaurea, and scabiosa, and try to succession sow for about six weeks. By mid-July, I’ve finished all my successive sowing for the cutting garden, and the bouquets are coming in waves. The snapdragons, stock, and violas have faded to make way for cosmos, zinnias, and the first of the sunflowers and dahlias. Cutting the flower stems is best done in the evening and early morning. This is also when I water, heavier on the morning watering than evening. In some cases evening watering can encourage powdery mildew or other moisture-loving problems. As with any watering, if I do water in the evenings, I do my best to avoid getting the plant itself wet. One thing that doesn’t seem to slow down, no matter what type of garden you have, are the weeds. Most of the weeds I must deal with are not established
and have blown in from adjacent fields as seed. After a good rain there is often a blanket of just emerging weed seedlings, and my goal is to skim them off before they have the time to take root. If I’m lucky enough to have these types of weed seedlings, a good rustling up of the soil is all that’s needed, and the uprooted plants will wither in place without the added task of picking them out of the garden. Heavy producers are heavy feeders, as I’m sure you vegetable gardeners know. The same goes for these cut flower annuals, and consistent deep watering, with regular fertilization, is also important through the hot production days. I currently don’t use any synthetic fertilizers in the field, although I may someday as the fields and business expand. Right now, my best fertilization is by top dressing my garden beds with aged (two years or older) barnyard compost, courtesy of my goats, cows, and chickens. Annual plant life cycles are finished at the end of the growing season, or, if you don’t cut off their flowers, when they go to seed. It’s almost counter-intuitive for someone who once grew plants for lasting landscape impact to work with plants that grow best when cut the deepest, harvesting the whole flower stem, especially in the summer heat. I have to remind myself, if they are blooming, they are
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begging to be harvested! If you are growing primarily natives and longlasting perennials, they won’t fancy having every bloom cut off, especially in July and August. But zinnias and other heat-loving annuals thrive in the heat; they originated from places like Mexico. Notice I didn’t say deadhead. You typically don’t deadhead in a cutting garden, which refers to just snipping off past blooms. The goal for cut flowers is long stems, so deep cuts are required to signal the plant to make new, long shoots. Again, a hard task for a former perennial- and woody-plants-only gardener, but a necessary one. So while I attempted to write this piece as an admonition to slow down in the heat of summer, as I was once inclined to do, I must confess, that as a recent convert to the cut flower lover’s club, I must garden through many a sweaty day, only resting after much cutting, watering, and weeding. The good news? It’s been a delight to try a new type of gardening, and while I don’t fancy myself old, this cat can indeed learn new tricks in a new space, despite the heat.
Bonnie Warriner is a horticulturalist and budding flower farmer with a love for capturing beauty in pictures and words. You can find her among the wildflowers and goats on her family’s 150 acre farm in Jasper, New York.
Seasonal stakeout
1 4 | JMUALYY--JAUUNGEU 2S 0T 2260 2 6
City of good neighbors in bloom: Garden Walk Buffalo By Carolyn Sperry; photos provided by Jim Charlier and Gardens Buffalo Niagara
B
ack in 1995, no one knew that Garden Walk Buffalo would take on a life of its own. Jim Charlier, a Buffalo art director and designer who has been involved since the event’s humble beginnings, took an out-of-town friend on the walk that first year, just for something to do. That summer, it was a block club event consisting of twenty-nine gardens in the Norwood/West Utica neighborhood. Right away, Charlier liked it and wanted to participate. “There’s no criteria,” he says. “There’s no judging. There’s no cost.” Then and now, participants wanting to show off their gardens only need to be friendly and ready to welcome visitors. This year’s event will take place Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “We have visitors from the neighborhood, from other local towns, from across the state and country, and even from other countries coming to Buffalo to see the beauty of the gardens,” says event co-chair Beth Kreutzer. In addition to seeing the gardens, she says, “visitors also get to really experience … places they wouldn’t see on a typical
visit to Buffalo. There is amazing architecture and great little restaurants and shops. There are so many hidden gems, tucked away off the beaten path. Garden Walk Buffalo gives the visitors a chance to really explore.” Marvin Lunenfeld, the original founder of the walk, was adamant about it being egalitarian: open to the public, open for everyone. Prior to the founding of Garden Walk Buffalo, Charlier says, “most garden tours were … I hate to say it, but garden tea party kind of things with, like, six houses.” Those types of events often had an upscale feel, charging a high admission fee to raise money for a charity, and showcasing estate gardens in upscale neighborhoods, often tended by [professional] gardeners. “More like the ‘ladies who lunch’ kind of a tour. And we sort of broke that mold.” In Buffalo, he explains, whoever lives in the house does the gardening. And any resident who is proud of their garden is welcome to participate. He and his wife first participated in 1996. “Back then, we would do lick-and-stick parties because we had to [send] mail everywhere.” By year three, Charlier was
OPPOSITE: Here are two of three cottages tucked away behind the “Disneyesque” quaint cottages of Little Summer Street. ABOVE RIGHT: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House is one of three headquarters where you can pick up the free maps on an any day during the walk. ABOVE LEFT: The walk features homes as colorful as the blooms, like here on Buffalo’s Livingston Street.
UPSTATE GARDENERS’ JOURNAL | 15
ALL ABOVE: Archive photos of Garden Walk Buffalo courtesy Gardens Buffalo Niagara
16 | MAY-JUNE 2026
designing the poster for the event. He then created a map of the garden walk that participants could use, then ended up running the event for seven years. The event expanded to the Allentown neighborhood in 1998, and to the lower west side in 2000. In 2004, two hundred gardens participated. The event is now the largest garden walk in the United States, and a garden destination that has garnered a national reputation. “We do want to keep it contained in a footprint,” Charlier explains, noting that garden tours are best when they are in a defined area for walkability. This year, around 300 gardens will be on the tour. Since there is no admission fee and no tickets are sold or collected, it’s hard to know how many people walk through the event. A consultant back in 2011 estimated that attendance was between sixty and seventy thousand people per year. That translated to a roughly $3.4 million economic impact for the city. The pandemic shrank the event somewhat. But turnout is still impressive. The walk has had a lot of help along the way. Visit Buffalo, the Olmstead Parks Conservancy,
and the Plant WNY (the association of nursery and landscape tradespeople), among others, have been invaluable partners. Eventually, promoters created a larger organization, Gardens Buffalo Niagara. That organization now promotes fourteen independently run events around the region, including the East Side Garden Walk, a garden art sale, and garden walks in smaller communities such as the North Tonawanda Garden Walk. “In August, we do an urban farm day. We’ve got the garden art sale coming up,” Charlier says. That event, too, is getting bigger every year, he explains. “Now, it’s on the grounds of the botanical garden.” Profits from the Garden Walk fund grants to block clubs and other community groups. “We’ve given out more than $200,000 since 2005. This year, we gave out $40,000.” The impact of the garden walk has been profound, both financially and for the image of Buffalo, which Charlier says people think of as “a snow city, definitely a rust belt city. And the gardens are like the antithesis of that.” Envisioning Buffalo as a city of beautiful gardens and friendly gardeners could be a stretch for some people. “But, Buffalo’s called the City
of Good Neighbors, and this event helps that.” The Garden Walk functions as a how-to guide for other cities who have put together their own garden walks— there are more logistics involved than people might realize. There is a lot to consider, like infrastructure, communication, and marketing. “The people from GardenWalk Cleveland came to Buffalo many, many years ago,” Charlier explains. “We sent them all our information on insurance, what we do, how we solicit gardens, anything we could give them, we gave them, and they’ve been running a very successful garden tour. Same with Memphis.” When asked what advice he would give to a community wanting to start a garden walk from scratch, he says, “Start small. Find ways to do it that won’t stress you out.” Of everyone involved, he says, the gardeners themselves are the most critical to the event’s success. A lot of them consider it a public service they do, and it is a way for everyone to give something back to the community. “You know, if you’re not joining boards and making things happen in the city, you can at least open up your garden and welcome people.”
This year, a shuttle bus will be available for the garden tour. A wristband for the shuttle costs $10 for the weekend if purchased in advance or $15 the weekend of the event. Each bus will have a guide from Explore Buffalo, an organization that gives history and architecture tours, so riders will learn more about the city as they go. Year thirty-two of the walk will be an exciting one, says co-chair Barb Cavanagh, and the event seems to have influenced people’s opinions about Buffalo. “Talking to visitors from all over and seeing their enthusiasm is very gratifying for everyone on the Garden Walk Buffalo committee who work hard getting ready for this much-anticipated event.” For more information including maps of Garden Walk Buffalo, visit gardensbuffaloniagara.com/gardenwalk-buffalo Carolyn Sperry is a freelance writer in Rochester. She has published nationwide, won the Gotham Writers Stories Everywhere competition, and writes poetry featured in several journals.
TOP RIGHT: This Norwood Avenue garden shows a masterful use of a lawnless front yard. TOP LEFT: This mini-retreat is on Buffalo’s Prospect Avenue in the shadow of the castle-like Connecticut Street Armory. BOTTOM RIGHT: A densely planted Garden Walk Buffalo garden on Argyle Park BOTTOM LEFT: A Mariner Street garden in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood
UPSTATE GARDENERS’ JOURNAL | 17
Backyard habitat
Are “bully birds” taking over your feeder? By Liz Magnanti
O
ABOVE: Common Grackle at feeder; photo courtesy Wikicommons CCSA 3.0: Geoff Clarke OPPOSITE: Male house Sparrow; photo courtesy Wikicommons CCSA 4.0: Rhododendrites
18 | MAY-JUNE 2026
ne common question I receive is how to keep “bully” birds out of feeders and birdhouses. What makes a bird a “bully” tends to be in the eye of the beholder, but usually people are talking about Starlings, Grackles, and House Sparrows. While nothing is 100 percent, there are some things that can be done to discourage these birds from taking up residence in your yard. Some of the first migrants that come back to the area in the spring are the Blackbirds. Both Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles arrive in large flocks. As they move in, these large flocks can be seen in trees where the birds will make screeching and rattling calls. Grackles can become a nuisance in yards and feeders, because they can be aggressive and ravenous. Starlings, although not technically a Blackbird, but in the Mynah family, often get grouped into this “Blackbird” category . Blackbirds all come to bird feeders hungry after their migration and some will visit feeders all summer long. Although the large flocks tend to dissipate when the birds start to pair up to mate, Blackbirds will frequent feeders throughout the summer. Blackbirds will eat
sunflower seed, peanuts, corn, and most blends of seed. If you want to avoid having Grackles at your feeders, switch your sunflower seed or seed mix to safflower. Safflower is a seed that is about the same size as sunflower seed, but it is white in color and has a bitter taste. Blackbirds do not like the taste of this seed and they will avoid it. What is even better, is squirrels don’t like it either! Safflower seed will attract Cardinals, House Finches, Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Grosbeaks, and more, so you will still have a good diversity of birds coming. Nyjer seed is another type of seed that doesn’t normally attract Blackbirds. Nyjer seed is very fine and goes into a special Finch feeder which has small feeding portals. These holes are too small for a Blackbird to reach inside with their beak, but smaller birds like Goldfinches can feed from it easily. Wide open trays and tube feeders with large perches are great for attracting a diversity of birds, but this includes Blackbirds. Feeders with small perches or cages around them, however, can keep Blackbirds away. Small perches of about an inch long or shorter are not usually big enough for the Blackbird to land on. Feeders with cages around them will keep out all large birds and squirrels, but will allow for small birds like Chickadees, Finches, and Downy Woodpeckers to fit inside and feed. If you want to keep Blackbirds off your suet, consider getting an “upside down” suet feeder. These suet feeders have a roof over the top of them, so birds have to hang upside down to get the food from the feeder. Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Chickadees can all do this easily, but Blackbirds cannot! Another bird that can be considered a “bully” is the House Sparrow. House Sparrows are an introduced species that are often found in backyards at feeders and birdhouses. Putting out safflower seed will help keep the number of House Sparrows down just like it will Blackbirds. Some will still eat it, but it should reduce the overall number of Sparrows at your feeders. The biggest nuisance House Sparrows pose is outcompeting native species for nesting cavities. House Sparrows will nest in tree cavities as well as birdhouses. They have a bad reputation for disturbing
Come See the Hundreds of Lotus Varieties in Bloom!
LotusFest 2026 July 24–26
Bluebirds who are nesting in houses by destroying their eggs or even attacking the birds themselves. Keeping Sparrows out of birdhouses can be tricky. Bluebirds need a nesting cavity that is 1.5” in diameter in order to fit inside. This size is large enough that Sparrows can easily fit inside of it too. Adding a “bird guardian” tunnel to the outside of the house can sometimes help. These tubular extensions are screwed to the outside of the house, making the entrance hole more of a long tunnel. These are designed to keep predators like raccoons from reaching inside the house to raid the eggs, but they can also help keep Sparrows out. There are also “Sparrow resistant” houses that have a small, confined nesting cavity and a rectangular entrance hole that the Bluebirds will use but the Sparrows don’t prefer. While not 100%, these houses aren’t preferable to Sparrows, so they may decide to go elsewhere. Another way to keep Sparrows out of houses, is to install a Sparrow spooker to the top of the house. Spookers must be installed after the bird you wish to attract, for example a Bluebird, have established themselves in the nesting cavity and laid an egg. Once they have laid an egg, the spooker, which is made of shiny reflective material, is attached to the top of the house. Birds don’t like shiny objects and it will keep others away while the established bird will keep coming to tend to its nest. Adding additional birdhouses to your landscape can also help alleviate some of the nest site competition, offering real estate for more birds at once. If you aren’t picky about the birds you attract to your birdhouse, you can also add a metal plate called a portal to the opening of the house to keep Sparrows out. Portals are meant to keep the opening of a bird house a specific size, so squirrels or woodpeckers can’t work at the hole to make it larger. Portals with an opening of 1.13 inch or smaller are meant for Chickadees or Wrens and are too small for Sparrows to fit inside. While there isn’t a single solution for keeping “bully” birds out of your yard, using these strategies can help create a more welcoming environment for other bird species and encourage the more aggressive birds to move along.
Liz Magnanti is co-owner of the Bird House in Brighton.
Guided Tours of the Lotus Collection Live Traditional Chinese Music Traditional Chinese Dance Roll’n Deep Food Truck Growing Chinese Cymbidium Orchids Lecture See website for full schedule
Bergen Water Gardens and Nursery
bergenwatergardens.com Lotus are in bloom all through August. Visit before 2pm before single petal lotus close.
7443 Buffalo Rd. Churchville, NY 14428 585-293-2860
Calendar
CLASSES/EVENTS KEY: F–Appropriate for children and families S–Plant sales/swaps T–Garden tours O–Online event
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. avgswny@gmail.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 May. 716-937-7924. Amana Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month (except January) at Ebenezer United Church of Christ, 630 Main St., West Seneca. Visitors welcome. 716-844-8543, singtoo@aol.com. Amherst Garden Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month (except December, March, July, and August) at 10 a.m., St. John’s Lutheran Church, Main St., Williamsville. New members and guests welcome. 716-836-5397. Bowmansville Garden Club meets the first Monday of the month (except June, July, August, and December) at 7 p.m., Bowmansville Fire Hall, 36 Main St., Bowmansville. New members and guests welcome. For more information, 716-361-8325. Buffalo Area Daylily Society. East Aurora Senior Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. The society is a friendly group who get together to enjoy daylilies. Plant sales in August. Open gardens, June–August. Facebook. Buffalo Bonsai Society meets every second Saturday at 1 p.m. at ECC North Campus, STEM Bldg., 6205 Main St., Williamsville. Picnic/Auction; 9/14, (Rochester) Penjing Bonsai; 10/12, Mark Arpag; 11/9, Suiseki with Sean Smith. buffalobonsaisociety.com. East Aurora Garden Club meets at noon on the second Monday of each month, except January. The club meets at Nativity Lutheran Church, 970 E. Main St., East Aurora ( just west of the 400 Expressway exit). The club’s objective is to stimulate, create interest, and promote education on horticulture, the art of gardening, flower arranging, and environmental conservation; and to promote the beautification of surrounding areas. For more information about the club or membership call 716-912-1589. Federated Garden Clubs NYS–District 8. Nancy Kalieta is the director; nancyk212@aol.com. gardenclubsofwny.com. Forest Stream Garden Club meets the third Thursday of the month (September–May) at 7 p.m., Presbyterian Village, 214 Village Park Dr., Williamsville and other locations. Summer garden teas and tours available. Ongoing projects include beautification of the Williamsville Meeting House, garden therapy at a local nursing home, youth gardening, and Victorian Christmas decorating. eileen.s@markzon.com. Friends of Kenan Herb Club meets the third Monday of the month at 2 p.m. at the Taylor Theater. New members are always welcome. kenancenter.org/ herb-club. Garden Club of the Tonawanda meets the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m., Tonawanda City Hall, Community Room. Facebook. Garden Friends of Clarence meets the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., September– June, Town Park Clubhouse, 10405 Main St., Clarence. gardenfriendsofclarence@hotmail.com. Gardens Buffalo Niagara open gardens on Thursdays and Fridays in July starts Thursday, July 11. Explore the beauty of gardens spread out in Erie and Niagara counties. Visit gardensbuffaloniagara.com/ open-gardens-buffalo for more details and location information. 20 | MAY-JUNE 2026
Hamburg Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of each month (except July and August) at 10 a.m. at the VFW Post 1419, 2985 Lakeview Rd, Hamburg. Events include a June plant sale and July and August field trips. New members and guests are welcome. Contact: mfarallo@roadrunner.com Kenmore Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of the month (except July, August, and December) at 10 a.m., Kenmore United Methodist Church, 32 Landers Rd., Kenmore. Activities include guest speakers, floral designs, and community service. New members and guests are welcome. songnbird@ aol.com. Ken-Sheriton Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of the month (except January) at 7 p.m., St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 576 Delaware Rd. Kenmore. Monthly programs, artistic design, and horticulture displays. New members and guests welcome. 716833-8799, dstierheim@gmail.com. Lancaster Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month (except January, July, and August) at 7 p.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 55 Pleasant Ave., Lancaster. All are welcome. Facebook. Lewiston Garden Club meets the fourth Monday of the month. See website for meeting information, lewistongardenfest.com/garden-club.html or contact at PO Box 32, Lewiston, NY 14092. Niagara Frontier Botanical Society meets the second Tuesday of the month September through May at 7:30 p.m. (except April) at the Harlem Rd. Community Center, 4255 Harlem Rd., Amherst. Entrance is on the north side of the building. Meetings are open to the public. Niagara Frontier Orchid Society (NFOS) usually meets the first Tuesday following the first Sunday, September–June, Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. niagarafrontierorchids.org. Orchard Park Garden Club meets the first Thursday of the month (except July and December) at 11:30 am at the American Legion Post 567 at 5784 Ellis Rd, Orchard Park. Contact Lena Monaco at 716270-7862 for membership information. Guests are always welcome. Ransomville Garden Club meets the third Wednesday or Saturday of the month at 5:45 p.m., Ransomville Community Library, 3733 Ransomville Rd., Ransomville. Meetings are open to all. Activities include community gardening projects, educational presentations, and June plant sale. bbonnie2313@ gmail.com. Silver Creek-Hanover Garden Club meets the second Saturday of the month at 11 a.m., Silver Creek Senior Center, 1823 Lake Rd. (Rte. 5), Silver Creek. schgardenclub2010@gmail.com South Towns Gardeners Meets the third Friday of each month (except January) at 9:30 am. Location is the American Legion Post, 5784 Ellis Road, Orchard Park 14127, NY. New members welcome! Springville Concord Garden Club Meets the first Friday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Concord Senior Center, 40 Commerce Dr., Springville. Meetings feature guest speakers on a variety of gardening and related topics. Annual July Garden Walk. Guests are welcome. Town and Country Garden Club of LeRoy meets the second Wednesday of the month (except February) at 6:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 7 Clay St., LeRoy 14482. Prospective members and guests are welcome. Contact: leroynygardenclub@gmail.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GardenClubLeRoyNY. Town and Country Garden Club of Williamsville generally meets the second Thursday of the month from 2–4 p.m. at the Ransom Oaks Community Club House, 101 Ransom Oaks Dr., East Amherst. Some meetings are held off site for garden tours and special events. The club maintains a garden at the Clearfield Library, 770 Hopkins Rd. Membership brochures with program information are available
in the library. For information, contact Lanscombe@ roadrunner.com. Tropical Fish Society of Erie County meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m., Lake Erie Italian Club, 3200 South Park Ave., Lackawanna. tropicalfish-club-of-erie-county.com Western New York Herb Study Group meets the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Facebook. Western New York Honey Producers, Inc. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County, 21 South Grove St., East Aurora. wnyhpa.org. Western New York Hosta Society. The WNYHS was formed to encourage members to appreciate hostas and to provide them with access to quality new varieties. The group meets three times a year at the East Aurora Senior Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. wnyhosta.com. Western New York Hosta Society Breakfast Meetings are friendly get-togethers the first Saturday (winter months only) at 10 a.m., Forestview Restaurant, Depew, wnyhosta.com. Western New York Iris Society meets at the Julia B. Reinstein Library, 1030 Losson Rd., Cheektowaga, at 1:30 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month. Western New York Rose Society meets the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. St. StephensBethlehem United Church of Christ, 750 Wehrle Dr., Williamsville. Check the Facebook page or website for meeting content: wnyrosesociety.net. Youngstown Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 100 Church St., Youngstown. Facebook.
FREQUENT HOSTS BECBG: Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo, NY 14218. 716/827-1584; buffalogardens.com. REIN: Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, 93 Honorine Drive, Depew, NY 14043. 716-6835959; reinsteinwoods.org.
CLASSES / EVENTS F Ongoing: Feed the Fish, 9:30 a.m. Regular admission for the day is included after the event. All tickets must be purchased ahead of time online. Check online for all dates. BECBG Ongoing: Orchids After Dark, 6 p.m. on select days. See the beautiful blooms of the Orchid Exhibit after the sun sets. Check online for all dates and ticket prices. BECBG F July 4: 18th Annual Lavender Festival, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. The event features local arts and crafts, lavenderinspired creations and plenty of food. There will also be a raffle to win a Lavender Festival quilt. Festivalgoers will also get to experience live music. Park Circle, Angelica, NY. More info is available on Instagram @LavenderFestivalAngelica. F July 6–31: Garden Explorers Summer Camp, 9 a.m.–noon. This half-day program explores various subjects including art, science, botany, and gardening for ages 10–14. BECBG F July 8: Firefly Walk, 8 p.m. This is a walk to see fireflies illuminate the night on this guided walk. Registration is required; call (716) 683-5959 REIN F July 8: The Hamburg Garden Club Delaware Park Garden Tour, 10 a.m. Participants will have the opportunity to tour the French-designed Rose Garden with thirty-three beds of roses and six-acre Japanese garden with a serene lake and cherry blossom trees. Guests are welcome; the cost is $10 a
person. Make reservations at mfarallo@roadrunner. com and visit hamburggardenclub.org/contact-us for more information. T July 11: Annual Arboretum Open House and Tour, 1:30–3:30 p.m. Learn the intriguing story of Draves Arboretum and tour the species collection with the founder, president, and curator of Draves Arboretum, Tom Draves. Cost of admission is $12. Visit dravesarboretum.org for more information. S July 11: Friends of Reinstein Woods Artisan Market, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Participants are in for a day of shopping along the trails and Reinstein Woods with more than forty-five different vendors selling handmade soaps, candles, jewelry, and much more. Food trucks, activities for kids, and a basket raffle on site. Don’t miss the iconic pink water lilies at their peak. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Rain or shine event. REIN T July 17–18: Ken-Ton GardenTour—Night Lights, 8:30– 11 p.m. This special evening tour highlights the hard work of community gardeners and their magnificent collection of local gardens in Tonawanda and Kenmore. kentongardentour.com T July 18–19: Ken-Ton Garden Tour—Day Tour, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Visitors can enjoy community gardens in Tonawanda and Kenmore. kentongardentour.com F July 28-30: Summer Teacher Institute: Summer Ecology School, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Participants will learn about Western New York’s natural world with three days of hands-on field studies in ponds, forests, and fields. This workshop features local research and project highlights from environmental professionals, provides techniques for incorporating nature into classroom curricula, and strengthens confidence in using the outdoors as a teaching space. REIN August 12: The Hamburg Club CW Native Plant Farm & Botanika Tour, 10 a.m. Guided by owner Kathy Contino, this native plant farm showcases a wide variety of bushes, trees, and other biolife to increase the biodiversity in Western New York. Guests will be guided through pollinator gardens and the bird trail along Murder Creek, while also exploring the botanika with a wide selection of herbal infused skin care, incense, candles, and more. Guests are welcome at no cost for the tour but donations are accepted. Make your reservation at mfarallo@ roadrunner.com. August 15: William “Bill” Hendricks on Woody Plant Selections for the Shade Garden, 1–3 p.m. Horticultural expert Bill Hendricks takes an engaging and practical look at small trees and shrubs that thrive in shaded landscapes. Participants get to hear from his encyclopedic knowledge about plants and learn high-detailed horticultural observations and practical plant wisdom. Registration $35. dravesarboretum.org F August 26: Fabulous Fungi, 10 a.m. This is a “fungtastic” and beginner-friendly walk, led by a mushroom enthusiast with the goal to try and identify as many mushrooms as possible. For ages 12 and older, registration required. REIN F August 29: Full Moon Walk, 8:30 p.m. This calm and cool evening is a guided walk through the forest, lit by the beautiful Sturgeon Moon. Registration required. REIN
ITHACA
Auraca Herbarists, an herb study group, usually meets the second Tuesday of the month at noon, Cornell Botanic Gardens, Ithaca. Brown bag lunch at noon followed by the program. and herb of the month. Field trips during the growing season. All are welcome. Contact Pat Curran: pc21@cornell.edu. Elmira Garden Club meets the first Thursday of the month, April–December, at 6 p.m., 426 Fulton St., Elmira. Annual plant sale, workshops, monthly meetings, local garden tours and community Facebook. Finger Lakes Native Plant Society meetings are usually on the third Tuesday of the month September to May. The organization is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of native flora and holds free public field trips and indoor programs, plus provides members a newsletter, seed exchange, native plant sale, and December celebration of native plants. flnps.org, info@flnps.org. Windsor NY Garden Group meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 10 a.m., members’ homes or Windsor Community House, 107 Main St., Windsor. windsorgardengroup.suerambo.com.
CLASSES / EVENTS T July 12: Ithaca Fall Creek Neighborhood Garden Tour, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Participants will enjoy a free, self-guided walking tour of nine Ithaca gardens with well-planted front yards and hidden delights of private backyards. Hosts will be on-site to answer questions. Pick up a free map with garden locations and descriptions at the pavilion in Thompson Park on N. Cayuga St. There will be a raffle for prizes donated by local garden businesses. Rain or shine, free and open to all. albonesi@earthlink.net
ROCHESTER REGULAR CLUB MEETINGS
7th District Federated Garden Clubs of New York State meets the first Wednesday of the month. 7thdistrictfgcnys.org. African Violet and Gesneriad Society of Rochester meets the first Thursday of the month September– November and March–May, 7–9 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church, 4301 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester. December and June meetings are social events TBD location. Contacts: Douglas Burdick, 585-313-8674, dburdick@msn.com. Barb Festenstein, 585-461-1673, barbfestenstein@aol.com. Bloomfield Garden Club meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:45 a.m., Veterans Park, 6910 Routes 5 & 20, Bloomfield. Visitors and prospective new members welcome. Marlene Moran, 585-924-8035, Facebook. Bonsai Society of Upstate New York meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Brighton Town Park Lodge, Buckland Park, 1341 Westfall Rd., Rochester. 585-334-2595, Facebook, bonsaisocietyofupstateny. org. Canandaigua Botanical Society meets for in-person botanical events. See website for event schedule. canandaiguabotanicalsociety.blogspot.com
REGULAR CLUB MEETINGS
Color Pittsford Green meets on the third Wednesday of the month, 6:45–7:45 p.m. via Zoom. All are welcome. colorpittsfordgreen.org
Adirondack Chapter, North American Rock Garden Society (ACNARGS) Meetings are open to all. Check the current newsletter on the website for meeting location: acnargs.org or Facebook.com/acnargs.
Color Webster Green meets on the second Wednesday of the month, 6:30–7:30 p.m. at the Webster Public Library, 980 Ridge Rd, Webster, NY, 14580. All are welcome. Colorwebstergreen@gmail.com.
Conesus Lake Garden Club announces its campaign for new members. Meetings are held March through December at the Watershed Education Center, Vitale Park, Livonia at 7 p.m. The primary missions of the club are civic beautification and scholarships for Camp Stella Maris and Livonia Central School. Inquiries can be made to Eleanor Dober, President at: emd_sjd@yahoo.com. Country Gardeners of Webster This club is for those who like to dig in the dirt, smell the roses, learn about the birds and bees, take a walk in the park, eat, drink, and be merry, or live in Webster. They meet the second Monday of the month. Contact Elaine at 585-350-8270 to try this fun-loving club out. Creative Gardeners of Penfield meets the second Monday of the month (except July and August) at 9:15 a.m., Penfield United Methodist Church, 1795 Baird Rd., Penfield. Visitors welcome. Contact 585385-2065 or 09green17@gmail.com if interested in attending a meeting. Fairport Garden Club Meets the third Thursday evening of the month (except January, February, March, and August) in members’ homes or in the Perinton Ambulance building. Educational topics are presented through speakers, workshops, local tours, and community gardening i.e., Planter at Johanna Perrin School. fairportgc@gmail.com, fairportgardenclub.com. Finger Lakes Daylily Society members garden in west-central NY, covering an area from Batavia to Syracuse and the Southern Tier. Meetings are held in Rochester or the Canandaigua area. There are generally four regular Saturday meetings held in February, March, May, and September. Visitors and prospective new members are welcome to attend. Contact Deb Lawrence for information, binxers1@ yahoo.com. Friends of Ellwanger Garden meet all season long on Tuesday mornings. To volunteer at the garden, please contact Cindy Boyer at 585-546-7029, x12 or cboyer@landmarksociety.org. Garden Club of Brockport meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m., Jubilee Church, 3565 Lake Rd., Brockport. Visitors can learn gardening tips from knowledgeable speakers, make garden ornaments through hands-on classes, and explore beautiful local gardens. For more info please email gardenclubofbrockport24@ gmail.com. Garden Club of Mendon meets the third Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Mendon Community Center, 167 North Main St., Honeoye Falls. Members work on community gardens and gather new ideas in a casual, social environment. 585-624-8182, joanheaney70@gmail.com. Garden Path of Penfield meets the third Wednesday of the month, September–May at 7 p.m., Penfield Community Center, 1985 Baird Rd., Penfield. Members enjoy all aspects of gardening, new members welcome. gardenpathofpenfield@gmail. com Gates Garden Club meets the second Thursday of the month (except July and August) at 6:30 p.m., Gates Town Annex, 1605 Buffalo Rd., Rochester. New members and guests welcome. gatesgardenclub@ gmail.com Genesee Region Orchid Society (GROS) meets the first Monday following the first Sunday of the month. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. at the JCC on Edgewood Dr. in Brighton. Please see the website for information, geneseeorchid.org. Genesee Valley Hosta Society meets the second Thursday of the month, April–October, at Look Up Park, 3850 East Henrietta Rd, Henrietta. Contact 585-889-7678 or sebuckner@frontiernet.net, or visit geneseevalleyhosta.com for more information.
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Calendar
CLASSES/EVENTS KEY: F–Appropriate for children and families S–Plant sales/swaps T–Garden tours O–Online event
ROCHESTER cont. Greater Rochester Iris Society (GRIS) is an affiliate of the American Iris Society, meets on a Sunday during the months of March, April, September, and October at 2 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church Hall, 11 Episcopal Ave., Honeoye Falls. Public welcome. Plant Sales, guest speakers or location visits, Volunteer Opportunities. Honeoye Falls. 585-2660302, thehutchings@mac.com. Greater Rochester Perennial Society (GRPS) Ongoing meetings (April through October) provide a variety of plant sales and memberonly virtual lectures and on-site garden tours. A calendar of 2026 events in on the website Greater Rochester Perennial Society:rochesterperennial. com or the Greater Rochester Perennial Society Facebook page: facebook.com/ GreaterRochesterPerennialSociety. To become a member, you can download our membership form: rochesterperennial.com or contact us via email: rocperennial@gmail.com. Greater Rochester Rose Society meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. on Zoom January, February, and March Email j.chorder@gmail. com for meeting link. Questions: 585-694-8430. Facebook: Greater Rochester Rose Society. Henrietta Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month, except May-August and December. at 6:30 pm at The Henrietta Town Hall, Lower level, 475 Calkins Rd. Henrietta. Handicap accessible. Guests and nonresidents are welcome. Call 585-442-8634or Sites.google.com/site/ henriettagardenclub. Hilton Garden Club Meetings are the third Tuesday of the month from February-December. At the Hilton Baptist Church, 50 Lake Ave from 7-9 p.m. Meetings are offsite in July and August. Facebook: The Hilton Garden Club. Holley Garden Club meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., Holley Presbyterian Church. 585-638-6973. Hubbard Springs Garden Club of Chili meets the third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Chili Community Center, 3237 Chili Ave., Rochester. dtoogood@rochester.rr.com Ikebana International Rochester Chapter 53 meets on zoom February to April at 10 a.m. the third Thursday of each month. Beginning in April, meetings are in-person. There are no meetings in December and January. Attendees will participate in an ikebana workshop, enjoy fellowship with your own brown-bag lunch, and have a short culture program following lunch. Ikebana International is a non-profit cultural organization whose objective is to stimulate and perpetuate the study of ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) and related arts throughout the world. In-person meetings are at First Baptist Church, Hubbell Hall, 175 Allens Creek Rd., Rochester. rochesterikebana@gmail.com, ikebanarochester.org. Kendall Garden Club meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., Kendall Town Hall. 585-3708964. Klemwood Garden Club of Webster meets the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. (except January and February) in members’ homes or local libraries. Accepting new members. 585-671-1961. Lakeview Garden Club (Greece) meets the second Wednesday of the month (except January and February) at 7 p.m., meeting location varies depending on activity. Meetings may include a speaker, project or visits to local garden-related sites. New members always welcome. Contact,
Darlene Markham, dmarkham@rochester.rr.com. Newark Garden Club meets the first Friday of the month at 1 p.m., Park Presbyterian Church, Newark. Guests are welcome. Pittsford Garden Club meets the third Tuesday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at the Spiegel Center on Lincoln Ave. in the Village of Pittsford. The club usually meets in Room 18, but visitors should confirm at the front desk. New members are always welcomed. Annual plant sale on the third Saturday in May, parking lot behind the library. pittsfordgardenclub@gmail.com Rochester Dahlia Society meets the second Saturday of the month (except August and September) at 12:30 p.m., 2025 Rochester Dahlia Society Show and Sale Sept. 13-14 Aldersgate Methodist Church, 4115 Dewey Ave.; details at rochesterdahlias.org Visitors welcome. See website for up-to-date information concerning meetings and shows. 585-865-2291, Facebook, rochesterdahlias.org. Rochester Herb Society meets the first Tuesday of each month (excluding January, February, and July) at noon, Pittsford Community Center, 35 Lincoln Ave., Pittsford. Summer garden tours and day trips. New members welcome. rhs.est1971@gmail.com Rochester Permaculture Center meets monthly to discuss topics such as edible landscapes, gardening, farming, renewable energy, green building, rainwater harvesting, composting, local food, forest gardening, herbalism, green living, etc. Meeting location and details: meetup.com/ rochesterpermaculture. Seabreeze Bloomers Garden Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month (except January) at 7 p.m., location varies depending on activity. Meetings may include a speaker, project, or visit to local garden-related site. Monthly newsletter. New members welcome. Meetings are currently canceled, contact Bonnie Arnold with any questions. Bonnie Arnold, 585-230-5356, bonniearnold@frontiernet.net. Stafford Garden Club meets the third Wednesday of the month (except December and January) at 7 p.m., Stafford Town Hall, 8903 Morganville Rd. (Route 237), Stafford. All are welcome. 585-3434494. Urban Agriculture Working Group (UAWG) meets via Zoom on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. UAWG is a collection of gardeners, community gardens, and individuals who garden/farm in the city or support such activities. UAWG offers a Spring Conference each year and sponsors the Urban Gardens ROC garden crawl in the fall. In addition, the group advocates for City policies that make urban gardening more accessible for people who want to grow fresh vegetables for themselves or their neighbors. If you are interested in getting on the email list, contact Mallory Hohl, mdh286@ cornell.edu. You do not have to live in the city to participate.
FREQUENT HOSTS BFF: B-friendly Farm and Garden, 2755 Penfield Road, Fairport 14450. 585-424-4476; broccolotreeandlawn.com. CCE/GC: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Genesee County, 420 East Main St., Batavia, NY 14020. 585-343-3040, ext. 132; genesee.cce. cornell.edu.
CLASSES / EVENTS S/O Ongoing Fridays & Saturdays: Lunch time with Lili, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Gardeners and plant enthusiasts can participate in exclusive, online flash sales of orchids and carnivorous plants from Bergen Water Gardens. bergenwatergardens.com S July 3: Produce and Flower Auction, times vary, Expect a variety of flowers, vegetables, fruit, and much more. Auctions Monday (11 a.m.) Wednesday, and Friday (10 a.m.) in July and August (as well as July 3). Orleans County Produce Auction, 12590 Ridge Rd., Albion, NY 14411, auctioneer Caleb Nicodemus, 585-322-6331. facebook.com/ orleansproduceauction T July 11–18 & August 2: 2 p.m.–6 p.m. (July 17, 4 p.m.—7 p.m.) Daylily Garden Open House, Cobbs Hill Daylily Garden (a National Daylily Display Garden). Visitors may view the garden from the road or walk through during open house times. Call (585) 350-9973 ahead of time if you have any questions. Charlie and Judy Zettek, 1 Hillside Avenue, Rochester 14610 July 13: Stained Glass Butterfly, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Participants will create custom soldered stained glass suncatcher butterflies out of precut glass colors and learn how to foil and solder the pieces together to create a beautiful hanging butterfly. (Ages 18 and up) 6 spots. BFF F July 14: Life Cycle of the Bees and Butterflies, 10–11 a.m. Registrants will explore the life cycles of bees and butterflies and make a wildflower seed bomb. (Ages eight and up) $25; registration required. BFF T July 15: Great Gardens of Wayne County Tour, 4–8 p.m. Presented by Master Gardeners, this self-guided tour in the Macedon area will feature a variety of garden styles, from established landscapes to more personal backyard designs. Tickets will be available starting in mid-June. For more information, contact the Wayne County Cornell Cooperative Extension office at (315) 3318415. F July 16: Make A Leaf Puzzle And Owl From Recycled Cans, 10–11 a.m. Make a leaf puzzle and race teammates to figure out each other’s puzzles. Make and decorate an owl from recycled cans. (Ages 8 and up) $25; register online. BFF
Victor Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month (except January and February) at 6 p.m. New members welcome. Meeting and location details: victorgardenclubny2.com, victorgardenclub.org.
F July 21: Milk Carton Birdhouse; Toad House, 10–11 a.m. Upcycle a milk carton to create a one-ofa-kind birdhouse. Make a toad house to give shelter for your garden toads. (Ages 8 and up) $25; register online. BFF
The Webster Arboretum. 1700 Schlegel Road, Webster. thewebsterarboretum.org
July 23: Christmas in July, 1–5 p.m., This flower show is sponsored by the FGCNY 7th District. Step into a winter wonderland in the heat of summer at Damascus Shrine Center 979 Bay Road, Webster 14580. Admission and parking free.
Williamson Garden Club. On-going community projects and free monthly lectures to educate the community about gardening. Open to all. 315-524-4204, grow14589@gmail.com, growthewilliamsongardenclub.blogspot.com.
F July 23: Land Art, Coffee Cup Bird Feeder, 10–11 a.m. Make artwork from objects participants find around the Garden Center. Create a refillable cup bird feeder to hang in your tree at home. (Ages 8 and up) $25; register online. BFF
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Calendar
CLASSES/EVENTS KEY: F–Appropriate for children and families S–Plant sales/swaps T–Garden tours O–Online event
ROCHESTER cont. F July 28: Treasure Hunt with Decoder, Ice Cream Cone Bird Feeder, 10–11 a.m. Kids will use a decoder to find hidden treasures around the Garden Center then make an Ice cream cone bird feeder. (Ages 8 and up) $25; register online. BFF July 30: Learn About Chickens, Wind Chimes, 10–11 a.m. Learn about chickens and visit a coop. Color your own set of wind chimes. (Ages 8 and up) $25; register online. BFF August 6: Garden Talk “Butterfly Trek—The Amazing Migration of the Monarch Butterfly” is a free class that meets from noon–1 p.m. in person at CCE Genesee office, 420 E. Main St, Batavia. Attendees will be led by master gardener Judith Alberts as she shares the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly through photo and video, as well as ways to protect it and other pollinators in your garden. (585) 3433040x101 CCE/GC August 8: Fused Glass Coral Bowl, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. In this class you will be creating a beautiful open bowl using fused glass, and crossing pieces of glass in a spider-like design that will be fired together and then slumped into a bowl. You will need to pick up your finished pieces in 7–10 days. (Ages 18 and up) 8 spots. BFF S August 8–9: Greater Rochester Iris Society: Iris rhizome sale, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. This sale features new and reliable iris rhizomes and expert advice on how to grow and take care of them! Bristol’s Garden Center, 7454 Route 96, Victor, NY. August 15: Fused Glass Planter Fork Stake, 10a.m.–12 p.m. Members create their own decorative fused glass piece to be placed in a pot as an accent piece. These creative pieces will then be fused together in a kiln and attached to a fork. Finished pieces will need to be picked up in about seven days. (Ages 18 and up) 8 spots. BFF
SAVE THE DATE… September 12: Nature Apps Workshop, 10 a.m. In this workshop, associate professor John Bateman of Finger Lakes Community College explores a curated set of modern nature apps that support botanical exploration, plant identification, and ecological documentation, with special attention to tools useful for tracking invasive species. Free and open to the public. Wood Library, 134 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NY. September 14: Flowering Outdoors: Gardens & Parties, 9:30 a.m. Founder and editor-in-chief of FLOWER magazine Margot Shaw will present “Flowering Outdoors” at the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum. Tickets are required. Visit rochestergardenclub.com for more information. S September 19: Fall Garden Gala, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. The Genesee County Master Gardeners will host its annual Fall Garden Gala. There is a plant sale featuring a selection of perennial plants and houseplants, a chance auction, and garden floral arrangements. Plant sale starts promptly at 10:00 a.m. CCE/GC.
SYRACUSE REGULAR CLUB MEETINGS
African Violet and Gesneriad Society of Syracuse. The chapter meets at 7 p.m., on the second Thursday of the month, September to December and March to
24 | MAY-JUNE 2026
May, there are no meetings in January or February due to weather conditions. The meeting place is Pitcher Hill Community Church, 605 Bailey Road, North Syracuse. More information is available on the chapter website (avsofsyracuse.wixsite.com/avgss) or via email penny.moore.bs@gmail.com Baldwinsville Women’s Garden Club meets the first Thursday of each month except January at St Marks’ Lutheran Church in Baldwinsville at 7 p.m. The club plants the village flower barrels, raises money for the village flower hanging baskets, maintains the Pointe Garden, donates Arbor Day trees to schools, and gets involved in village improvement projects. Perennial sale yearly on Memorial Saturday morning in the village. See more information at Facebook, Women’s Garden Club of Baldwinsville. Bonsai Club of CNY (BCCNY) meets the first Saturday of the month 10 a.m.–12 p.m., Pitcher Hill Community Church, 605 Bailey Rd., North Syracuse. Contact Dave Taylor, daveturf1@yahoo.com or 315395-3018. cnybonsai.com, Bonsai Club of CNY on Facebook. Cazenovia Garden Club usually meets the first Tuesday of the month at 10:15 a.m. at the Cazenovia Public Library. With an active membership, their objective is to stimulate interest in horticulture, develop skills in the beautification of community and home, and create awareness of national and local conservation issues. Meetings feature guest speakers and field trips are planned throughout the year. For more information contact cazgardenclub@ gmail.com. Central New York Orchid Society meets the first Sunday of the month, September–May, St. Augustine’s Church, 7333 O’Brien Rd., Baldwinsville. Dates may vary due to holidays. 315-633-2437; cnyos.org. Fairmount Garden Club meets the third Thursday of the month (March–November) at 6:30 p.m., Camillus Senior Center, 25 First St., Camillus. Speakers and community projects. All are welcome. tooley.susan@yahoo.com. Federated Garden Clubs NYS–District 6. 315-481-4005, dist6fss@gmail.com. Gardening Friends Club meets the third Tuesday of the month, March–December, at 6:30 p.m., Wesleyan Church, 4591 US Route 11, Pulaski. 315-2981276, Facebook: Gardening Friends of Pulaski, NY, VicLaDeeDa@frontiernet.net. Gardeners in Thyme (a women’s herb club) meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., Beaver Lake Nature Center, Baldwinsville. 315-635-6481, hbaker@twcny.rr.com. Habitat Gardening in CNY (HGCNY) meets the last Sunday of most months at 2 p.m. Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool. HGCNY is a chapter of Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes; wildones.org. Free and open to the public. hgcny. org and ourhabitatgarden.org. Subscribe to the free e-newsletter by emailing info@hgcny.org. Home Garden Club of Syracuse usually meets the first Tuesday morning of the month. Members are active in educating the community about gardening, horticulture, and floral design and are involved with several civic projects in the Syracuse area. New members welcome. homegardenclubofsyracuse@ gmail.com, homegardenclubofsyracuse.org. Koi and Water Garden Society of Central New York usually meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. See website for meeting locations. 315-4583199, cnykoi.com. The Men and Women’s Garden Club of Syracuse meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Reformed Church of Syracuse, 1228 Teall Ave., Syracuse. Meetings feature activities and/or guest speakers on gardening-related topics. The club also plans tours for its members. Members
maintain gardens at Rosamond Gifford Zoo and Ronald McDonald House plus host annual flower shows. Regular club meetings at the church will take place in the months of March, April, May, August, September, and November. More information at facebook.com/MWGardenClubOfSyracuse and mwgardenclubofsyracuse@gmail.com. Southern Hills Garden Southern Hills Garden Club meets the third Tuesday of each month (unless otherwise noted), February through November at the LaFayette FIrehouse, 2444 US Route 11, LaFayette, NY, 13084. Meetings with a guest speaker usually begin at 7:00 pm. Offsite meetings typically have an earlier start time. Guests are welcome and membership is open to anyone interested in gardening. For info regarding meetings or membership, please email Kathie Forrest at kathiepforrest@gmail.com. July MeetingVisit to Cornell Botanical Gardens in Ithaca, NY. August Meeting-Annual Picnic for MEMBERS ONLY. Spade & Trowel Garden Club of Manlius & Fayetteville usually meets the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. Members enjoy education in horticulture, conservation, gardening, floral design and civic beautification. For more information contact manliusgc@gmail.com. Syracuse Rose Society meets the second Thursday of the month (except December) at 7 p.m., Reformed Church of Syracuse, 1228 Teall Ave., Syracuse. Enter from Melrose Ave. Club members maintain the E. M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden, Thornden Park, Syracuse. Public welcome. syracuserosesociety.org. Seneca County Community Garden Club members meet on the first Wednesday of each month at the Seneca Falls Recreation Center, 35 Water St., Seneca Falls, NY $20 individual/ family plots available. New members always welcome, and you don’t have to be a Seneca Falls resident to join.
CLASSES / EVENTS T July 11: Habitat Gardening in CNY Plant Walk: Pleasant Valley Reserve, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. is a guided walking tour of the 300-acre wetland and woodland mix property, Pleasant Valley Preserve. Learn about invasive species identification, ongoing removal efforts, and more. Tour is led by volunteer land stewards Diane Emord and Barb Root. Spaces are limited to twenty people. Pleasant Valley Preserve, 3757 Pleasant Valley Rd, Syracuse, NY, 13215 hgcny. wildones.org/events T July 15: Oneida Garden Open House, 4 p.m.–7 p.m. Participants will enjoy a garden open house, tour the beautiful gardens, and view the educational gardening displays. Treats like herbal ice cream or sandwiches are available. Visitor can attend the bake sale and used book sale, too. Contact: (315) 736-3394 ext. 125 or website: cceoneida.edu.
Deadline for calendar listings for the next issue (September-October 2026) is August 10, 2026. Please send your submissions to calendar@upstategardenersjournal.com.
N OPEy 1 Ma u thr 4 2 Dec.
Kirby’s Farm Market, a farming family since 1878. — A Regenerative Farm —
Shop our wonderful selection of perennials to add color to your garden for every season. CSA (Weekly produce shares) Homegrown fruits & vegetables Antique room • Gift shop • Baked goods Local honey, maple syrup, jams Pick your own apples 9739 Ridge Rd W, Brockport, NY 14420 (585) 637-2600 • info@kirbysfm.com
Rochester Dahlia Society FLOWER Show & Sale September 18–20 —LOCATION—
Aldersgate Methodist Church Rochester, NY 14616 For detailed information: RochesterDahlias.org
native plant design for the home garden
noreen riordan isa certified arborist ny-1164 a nysdec certified nursery and landscape professional
birdsonglandscapedesign.com
(585) 402-4061
birdsonglandscapedesign@gmail.com
methin “So
g Good for You & Better for Your Gard en.”
Seneca Greenhouse Visit our greenhouse for seasonal favorites, unique perennials, hanging baskets & garden gifts.
2250 Transit Rd., near Seneca St. West Seneca, NY 14224 • 716/677-0681
Come visit us at
COTTAGE GARDENS
and see all the color and forms of our daylilies—more than 4100 cultivars --4540 East Shelby Road Medina, New York 14103 RETAIL & AHS DISPLAY GARDEN Open July 5–August 2 Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays 10am–4pm or by appointment email: cglilies@rochester.rr.com Phone 585-798-5441 Web: www.daylily.net/gardens/cottagegardens We welcome garden tours • Gift Certificates available
Roberts
Farm Market Annuals • Perennials • Hanging Baskets Herbs • Vegetable Plants • Mulch • Stones 11170 Maple Ridge Rd., Medina NY 14103
585-798-4247 • RobertsFarmMarket.com Open Mon–Sat 9–6
COTTAGE SPARKLER ROSS 2026
birdsong landscape dсign
Imagine walking through fields of daylilies in bloom.
From the garden
Dandelion gummy candy By Cathy Monrad
D
andelion (Taraxacum spp.) are known as a weed nowadays, but this member of the Asteraceae family has been used as an herb and for food throughout much of history. For detailed information about dandelions, see the May-June 2025 issue of Upstate Gardeners’ Journal, page 21. A few notes for this recipe: – Make sure you are using true dandelions—for instance, cat's ear (Hypochaeris), hawkweed (Hieracium), and hawksbeard (Crepis) all look similar. There are many resources online to help you distinguish the correct plant to use. – Be absolutely sure the dandelions you pick have not been sprayed with any chemicals. I used plants in the middle of my own backyard, and not near my neighbors’ property. – While silicone molds come in many shapes, you can simply use a rectangular mold and cut the gummy candies into squares. I used a silicone mini ice cube tray I found at a local dollar store.
INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup dandelion petals—be sure to only use the yellow petals; the green part is bitter 1 cup boiling water 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey 3 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse dandelion petals and place in a bowl. Add boiling water to petals and steep for 15 minutes to create a dandelion tea. Strain out the petals. 2. Whisk honey into the tea until dissolved. 3. Sprinkle gelatin on top of tea, one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition. Once all gelatin has been added, whisk another 1–2 minutes until gelatin is completely dissolved. Tip: If the gelatin does not completely dissolve, you can gently heat the mixture on the stove at the lowest setting while whisking until dissolved. 4. Pour the liquid into a silicone mold and allow to set up for at least 20 minutes. Test one of the gummies and if it’s not completely set allow a few more minutes before popping them all out of the mold. 5. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator up to a week. Cathy Monrad is the graphic designer for Upstate Gardeners‘ Journal.
QB Daylily Gardens
CLASSIFIEDS
AHS DAYLILY DISPLAY GARDEN Open for regular hours
PURE, NATURAL, LOCAL HONEY. Award-winning small scale
July 2 through August 9 Thursday thru Sunday, 10am to 5pm or any other time by appointment Closed Monday–Wednesday and 4th of July Group tours are welcome
Gift certificates available for purchase on site, mail, or thru website
557 Sand Hill Rd Caledonia • 860.378.4742 QBDAYLILYGARDENS.COM SALE—Buy one, get one free on select varieties Clip this ad for a $5 discount.
apiary by Lake Ontario. SeawayTrailHoney.com 585-820-6619 DAYLILIES. Daylilies are outstanding, carefree perennials. We grow and sell over 225 top-rated award-winning varieties in many colors and sizes in our Rochester garden. We are also an official national daylily society display garden. We welcome visitors to see the flowers in bloom from June to September. Call 585/461-3317.