By Sally Cunningham
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Whether you think of Spring as March 21st onward, or you wait for the true signs—balmy breezes, bulbs peeking up, buds swelling—these are the weeks for preparation.
Thank you for checking in with Lakeside Sod, and the home of the Big Yellow Bag. We hope to help guide you, month by month, with tips for your lawn, landscape, and garden.
While we wait for the soil to warm up and the grass to grow green, we can get busy in several ways:
Visit Plantasia
Plantasia is the annual landscape and garden show produced by the WNY Nursery and Landscape Association (PLANT* WNY). It offers education, shopping, and a chance to see what area professionals are offering. It is the ideal time to interview lawn and landscape professionals for projects you are planning. Best of all, it’s a flower-filled hint of the gardening season to come, with shopping and beauty for everyone. Come and smell the flowers!
Data: Thursday, March 14 – Sunday, March 17
Location: Hamburg Fairgrounds; entrance on South Park Avenue
Speakers (included with admission) Throughout each day, regional experts and educators offer 45-minute talks about all-things-gardening. Topics include design, lawn care, soil preparation, garden tourism, pruning, perennials, vegetable growing, herbs, container planting, houseplants, problem solving, and more.
Tickets: $10 General Admission, $8 senior citizens at the door; find them in advance at your favorite garden center or nursery.
PLANT WNY = Professional Landscape and Nursery Trades of WNY. Plantasia is planned, built, and managed by volunteers from the association. Thank you for your support!
Proudly sponsored by Lakeside Sod
Attend Classes
Want to learn more about gardening? In addition to talks at Plantasia and other Home & Garden Shows, garden classes will be offered by the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Garden, Master Gardeners of Erie County, some garden centers, and Gardens Buffalo Niagara. (info on their websites)
See an Arboretum
There are long-standing arboreta in our area, including The Botanical Gardens of Buffalo and Erie County, the arboretum at Buffalo State College, and the Nannem Arboretum in Cattaraugus County. Most exciting, we have one of the country’s newest: Draves Arboretum in Darien, New York, created over thirty years by renowned arborist Tom Draves. Walk the arboretum in March to see how trees and shrubs look in spring, what species do well in real WNY conditions, and what will work in your yard. Watch for tours and classes too, and consider a membership.
Enjoy gathering ideas and knowledge all around Western New York.
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Sally Cunningham is a horticulture expert, with former Master Gardener and Cornell Cooperative Extension positions. Currently she is an author, speaker, and garden tour director with AAA of Western and Central New York.
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