Vendors Wanted for Plantasia Show, Buffalo

Submitted by the Plantasia management

Vendors wanted to sell garden merchandise ie., plants, flowers, statuary, gardening books & tools, pots, bird feeders.  Plantasia, WNY’s premier landscape & garden show, March 25 - March 28 at the Agri-Center at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg. Contact 716-741-8047.

Submitted by the Plantasia management

An afternoon with Chuck

I spent the afternoon with Chuck Eblacker checking out some of his new work and visiting an installation I've been wanting to see for quite a while.

Chuck is currently creating a dry-laid stone wall at the Harley School in Brighton, and is instructing a course on the subject this semester as well. This is Chuck's project:

This is the students':

The kids' wall looks great, and what a good skill to learn! Part jigsaw puzzle, part weightlifting, part physics, all Zen.

Next, we moved on to a storied Pittsford property to view a few installations Chuck has worked on over the past few years.

There's the moongate, best known and very cool in person:

There are a few less-complicated projects around the property as well.
A stream crossing that keeps feet just above water:

A li'l cairn thingie:

And extra stones, piled just so, that the homeowner asked him just to leave as is.

More pix here.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper to give away rain barrels

This looks like an excellent opportunity for the WNY crowd: 


Submitted by Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper

Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER is able to give away, thanks to a grant from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 161 rain barrels to high-visibility sites in the Buffalo and Niagara regions. These sites include, but are not limited to, community gardens, low income residential communities, public buildings, government offices and schools.

Local municipal combined sewer systems are overwhelmed during storm events and the overflow dumps raw sewage into our sources of drinking water--the Niagara River and all its tributaries and Lake Erie--four billion gallons a year from Buffalo alone! Using a rain barrel is one way that individuals can help to clean up area waterways.

Once a rain barrel donation request form is submitted (they can be found on the website, www.bnriverkeeper.org/programs/rain-barrels/) and reviewed for eligibility, the barrels are available for immediate delivery to the site with instructions about installation, maintenance, and frequently-asked questions.

Rain barrel workshops, informing the community about the uses and benefits, will be held:

Wednesday, October 14th, 6:00-7:30p.m., at RIVERKEEPER offices, 1250 Niagara Street, Buffalo
Friday, October 23rd, 10-11 a.m., 75 Michigan Street, Lockport, 14094
Tuesday,November 3rd, 1-2 p.m., 5777 Lewiston Rd., Lewiston, 14092

To learn more about rain barrels, Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER, and the workshops, visit the website.

Submitted by Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper

We’ve always thought that we controlled them.

But what if, in fact, they have been shaping us?

“We don’t give nearly enough credit to plants,” says Michael Pollan. “They’ve been working on us, they’ve been using us, for their own purposes.”

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE, airing nationally on PBS on Wednesday, October 28th at 8PM, brings Michael Pollan's provocative best-seller vividly to life, showing how human desires are an essential, intricate part of natural history.
The program explores the natural history of four plants – the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato – and the corresponding human desires– sweetness, beauty, intoxication and controlling nature – that link their destinies to our own.

The two-hour special begins in Michael Pollan’s garden, and roams the world, from the potato fields of Idaho and Peru to the apple orchards of New England, from a medical marijuana hot house to the tulip markets of Amsterdam.

One of the great conceits of human civilization is to put ourselves outside nature – sovereign, constantly shaping and re-shaping the wild for our own purposes; people as subjects, and plants as objects. Taking these plants’ eye view of the world will help viewers understand the need to restore human activity to its proper place in the matrix of nature.

Click here to see a clip from the show.

Late Breaking Event: Rose Workshop

The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is pleased to host a free workshop on the selection, planting, and care of roses, Thursday October 22nd. The workshop will be held at the historic Delaware Park Rose Garden and Marcy Casino (199 Lincoln Pkwy) from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. Dave Swanka, the Conservancy's rosarian, will guide you through selecting, planting, fertilizing, and caring for your roses with an emphasis on using environmentally friendly procedures and products. Please join us for coffee, snacks, and an informative evening. Come early to tour the rose garden. For further information or to RSVP, please contact Dave Swanka at 833-5549 or dswanka@roadrunner.com.

Job Opening: Web Administrator (Ithaca)

The Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center is hiring a web administrator. The position is part-time (benefits-eligible) and will be based at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

General job description: Oversee the functionality of the Northeastern IPM Center's website, which educates people about integrated pest management (IPM). Support the Center and the region by enhancing site usability and navigation, improving design, and editing and updating content. Implement a content management system and assist staff in using it. Manage conversion of databases to new formats and migration of the website to a new server.

Details about the position are provided at the application link below and in the full position description.

Applications must be made through Cornell University's Human Resources website. The job number is 11327. http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs/index.html

The closing date for applications is October 23.  If you have questions about the position, please contact Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, ckk3@cornell.edu, 607-255-8879.

Perennial Plant Association

The Perennial Plant Association is offering scholarships for horticulture students. Check it out here: Perennial Plant Association

The Victor Garden Club presents: "Native American Plants"

Submitted by the Victor Garden Club

Master gardener and member Chris Benard will present a slide show program illustrating how Native Americans lived in harmony with nature and preserved natural places.

October 14, 2009
7:00 PM
Victor Free Library
Main Street
Victor, NY 14564

Submitted by the Victor Garden Club

Poster Contest for GardenScape ’10 Open to Student Artists Age 16-20

Submitted by the GardenScape Professionals Association

Student artists, age 16-20, are invited to participate in a contest to design the poster for GardenScape 2010, the 19th annual Rochester flower and garden show set for next March 11-14 at the Dome Center in Henrietta.

At the event, the Rochester area’s most creative landscapers will take up the challenge as they interpret the theme: “Eye of the Garden." Visitors will be treated to some 20 artistically landscaped gardens that combine color, beauty and an almost mystical aura in this show produced by the GardenScape Professionals Association.

One poster will be selected for the 2010 GardenScape show. The winning poster will be featured in the media campaign to promote GardenScape 2010. The winning artist will receive media recognition and a $500 scholarship. Posters will be judged to determine the most creative, relevant interpretation of “Eye of the Garden."

The Eye of the Garden theme is drawn from trompe l'oeil, an art genre that involves creating realistic images to effect an optical illusion; causing the two dimensional illustration depicted to appear three dimensional. Inspiration is also derived from the works of M.C. Esher, Salvador Dali and others. Imagine the energy, excitement and charged atmosphere of a powerful storm, then suddenly the sky seems to clear for a brief instant and serenity is restored. This year's show is all about that "Hmmmm...Ahhhh" moment.

Each entrant should complete the poster contest application form found on the GardenScape website www.rochesterflowershow.com/gardenscape/show-poster.php. The winning poster will become the property of GardenScape and offered for auction at the GardenScape Preview Reception,” A Taste of Spring”, proceeds to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation. The winning artist awarded the scholarship at the “ A Taste of Spring,” which benefits the Epilepsy Foundation.

GardenScape is a not-for-profit organization, and proceeds from the show help support public and educational projects such as the Epilepsy Foundation, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Ronald McDonald House. For more information on the show, including ticket pricing, go to www.rochesterflowershow.com or call 585-265-9018.

Submitted by the GardenScape Professionals Association

A prior year's GardenScape poster (Laurel McManus) 

Orleans County CCE Master Gardener Training Course

Submitted by the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension

ORLEANS COUNTY CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION MASTER GARDENER TRAINING COURSE
Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension is now accepting applications for the new Master Gardener Training course which will begin on October 7 at 9:30am. This popular course provides people with excellent gardening knowledge through a series of 10 weekly, 5 hour daytime classes. Attending all of the sessions will equip the registrants to share their knowledge by volunteering their time to Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Through this process you can become a certified Master Gardener.

The training will be coordinated by Vicki Jancef, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Call the office at 585 798 4265 x26 and speak with Vicki or Kim for more information or for an application form. There is a fee for the course to cover materials and speakers. This is a great way to increase your gardening knowledge and to be a part of an exciting volunteer group helping people to put gardening knowledge to work in Orleans County.

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Submitted by the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension