I can't believe I left this out.

The issue that's currently at the printer, March-April '06, is our first to cover the Syracuse area. During the early part of the year I spent a lot of time picking the brains of people who know what's going on in the CNY gardening scene, looking for interesting events, etc. Almost every one mentioned the April 1 Annual Spring Gardening Seminar sponsored by the Men's Garden Club of Syracuse and Phoenix Flower Farm, "Let's Go Native."

Guess what I left out of the calendar?

This seminar, held at the Craftsman Inn in Fayetteville, will feature Bill Cullina of the New England Wild Flower Society's Garden in the Woods and Don Leopold, who is a professor at SUNY-ESF and the author of Native Plants for the Northeast.

I haven't been able to track anyone down from the Men's Garden Club, but if you are interested, try contacting Helen Schueler at Phoenix through their Web site, Phoenixflowerfarm.com.

The Plantsmen Nursery Lives On

Great new this morning: Dan Segal, currently of New Jersey, is buying The Plantsmen Nursery and will be open for business this spring after all. Dan's plans for the business include keeping up its signature plant list (lots of unusual annuals and both tender and hardy perennials), while adding shrubs, ferns, shade plants and natives.

I think this means that The Plantsmen will be back on the Odyssey.

Congratulations to Dan.

Countryside Flower Farm's New Plants for '06

Astilbe “KeyWest”—Dark burgundy foliage with carmine-red flowers. Compact plant with short stems that and produces twice as many flowers as other astilbes.

Echinacea “Harvest Moon”—Gold flowers formed with wide, overlapping petals that are the color of a harvest moon. Very fragrant and excellent plant vigor.

Perovskia “Little Spire”—A shorter version that grows to only 24 inches. Late summer blooming and extremely drought tolerant.

Tree Rose “Northern Encore”—Developed especially for northern gardens. Two-inch, soft pink, single blooms in an everblooming display all summer long. Exceptional disease resistance.

Countryside Flower Farm is on York St. in Honeoye Fallls. Countrysideflowerfarm.com

What’s a CommuniTree Steward?

CommuniTree Stewards are volunteers who help out the departments of public works and parks in Syracuse and Onondaga County with the planting and care of new trees. 2006 is the fifth year of this program, run by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County. Extension educators train volunteers in the technical skills of site assessment, species selection, and proper planting, mulching and pruning of young trees. Stewards learn elements of tree health and urban forest health, and then practice their new skills caring for trees in public places such as parks, and schools. Ten hours training is received in exchange for 15 hours of volunteer service. Since 2002, 116 stewards have given over 2400 hours to prune and care for more than 1650 trees and have planted 475 trees on parks and in neighborhoods.

Training begins in early April.

If you are interested in knowing more about the program, contact Fran Lawlor: CCE Onondaga County, 220 Herald Place, 2nd Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202; 315//424-9485 x232; e-mail: FML7@cornell.edu.

CCEGC Offers Up Speakers

The Master Gardener Speakers Bureau of Genesee County announces it can provide provides dynamic program talks on a variety of topics, such as organic gardening, landscaping, wildlife and local bird life. Programs can also be tailored to meet audience needs. The fee is $50 per speaking engagement, ($25 for non-profits in Genesee and surrounding counties). For information, call Gail Culver, consumer horticulture educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, at 343-3040, ext. 132.

"Great Plant Sale" is on at BECBG—March 1

From March 1 throught April 4, supporters can order annuals and perennials through the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens’ annual Great Plant Sale. Check their website, buffalogardens.com, to see pictures and to download the plant list and order form. Plants can be picked up at the Gardens in May. For more information: 716/827-1584.

Plantsmen Nursery No More?

Sad news this week: Word on the street is that Rick Hedrick of The Plantsmen Nursery, near Ithaca, will not be reopening for business this spring. There's a chance, however, that a new owner could take over soon—though probably not soon enough for this year, seeing as it's already February 19.

The good news is that Barbara Bryant, Rick's right hand woman for years, will stay in Ithaca's nursery scene. Michaleen's, just around the corner, has snapped her up.

For those who are planning to attend our annual Odyssey to Ithaca: Never fear. We are busy finding suitable alternatives to our traditional stop at The Plantsmen.

Please excuse the google ad

I was monkeying around with google ads and things got wonky. I can't remove the one above without upsetting the formatting of the entire page. I ran out of time to figure this out and will have to get to it later. I don't mind ads, but I want them in the sidebar!

Just joined

Thanks for the invitation. I'm new to blogging, and I know I'll enjoy it though I may also need some help. Lots of snow on the ground, Bennington-way. Spoke with a nursery today on the lake on Rte 18, and hardly any snow there. He's a bit worried about the tiny 4 legged creatures and the damage they might do because it's such a mild winter and the ground up there still isn't frozen.

Philladelphia Flower Show: Michael Warren Thomas's tour has openings...

Michael writes:

I still have space on my tours to the Philadelphia Flower Show & Longwood Gardens on Wed/Thurs. March 8-9, and Sat./Sun. March 11-12, 2006. Find the itinerary here.

For three years Longwood Gardens has been completely renovating the main conservatory. They took everything (and I mean everything!) out so they could put in new plumbing and heating systems, as well as a new roof. LongwoodGardens.com

For more details on the Philadelphia Flower Show, visit TheFlowerShow.com . Most people come with me to see the Flower Show, but almost everyone enjoys Longwood Gardens even more. It is so peaceful and relaxing, after the bustle of downtown Philly.

Upstate Gardeners' Journal expanding into Syracuse/Central New York

There was a blurb about this in the Syracuse paper yesterday, and the response has been great! Lots of people are sending story ideas, signing up for subscriptions, and just being enthusiastic in general. This is really exciting. Our first issue to cover CNY will come out in the beginning of March. If you are interested in picking up a copy, check here at that time to see what outlets there are.

3rd Annual Odyssey to Ithaca is June 3, 2006

This trip always sells out early, so reserve your space now! We'll leave from Rochester and head for Cornell Plantations, which we'll tour at our leisure. Then it's on to Bakers' Acres for their wonderful Herbal Lunch, and—of course—to let the shopping begin! More details are here. We hope you will join us!