Join the Genesee County Master Gardeners as we “Catch the Gardening Bug.”  We will be offering three gardening themed programs this spring.  All classes will be held from 6 to 8 pm at the Genesee County Cornell Cooperative Extension office.  If you are looking for garden inspiration and know-how to apply to your own garden, check out these classes.

March 30 – “Create a Habitat in Your Yard”
Natural habitat in this country, and the world, is disappearing at a rapid rate.  Wildlife doesn’t just randomly appear in a given area.  It is there because of favorable habitat.  The right conditions will invite a host of birds, butterflies, and other species to your yard.  If you want to discover how to make your yard more valuable to bees, butterflies, birds, and beneficial insects this program is for you.  Join us as we have a conversation about things you can do to make your yard more valuable to your wild neighbors.  Change starts in your backyard!

April 10 - “Succulents!”
This two-part program will explore the popular family of succulents.  First, we will get some succulent basics, starting with “What are they?”  We’ll cover how to grow them and also how to propagate them.  Did you know that some can only be grown inside while others are perfectly happy and hardy in the garden?  They have such interesting shapes, textures and colors who can resist them.  After a short break, we’ll have a demonstration on how to put together your own succulent dish garden and how to use them in containers.

April 25 - “Wonderful Sunflowers”
Sunflowers are a bright and cheerful addition to any garden.  They are easy to grow from seed in almost any type of soil and can be sown in succession for a season full of colorful blooms.  Sunflowers can be grown for cut flowers, a colorful garden display or even for edible seed; for you or the birds.  Whether you want short, medium, or tall; yellow, burgundy, or orange, there’s a sunflower for you.  Join us to explore the wonderful world of sunflowers!

Classes will be held from 6 to 8 pm at the Genesee County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 420 East Main Street, Batavia.  The cost is $10 per person, per class.  Pre-registration is required as class size is limited.  Stop by the CCE office to pay by cash or check; or fill out the registration form and mail in your check.  The registration form can be found at our website: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/events.  Questions?  Contact Jan at 585-343-3040, ext. 132.

Heidi Young, with the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District, loads a pair of trees into the truck of Joe Reif, of Clarence, as part of the department's tree and shrub program for 2022.

Area residents were able to pre-order a variety of trees and shrubs for spring planting from Soil and Water and pick them up today at the Agri-Culture Center on East Main Street Road, Batavia.

This year there were 41 tree and shrub options for sale and 15 different multi-stem packages. Items ranged from evergreens, hardwoods, fruit trees, and flowering shrubs, to perennial flowers and ferns. Items that were not offered in a while have reappeared in the catalog this year, including white cedar transplants, yellow birch, pin cherry, and white flowering dogwood.

Photos by Howard Owens

If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener Volunteer, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County will be offering Master Gardener training this fall. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m., starting Sept. 7 and running through Nov. 16.

There will also be a full day of classes on Saturday, Oct. 23. We are currently planning to hold classes in-person at the CCE Genesee office, 420 E. Main St., Batavia.

Each class will focus on a different horticulture topic throughout the training. Some of the topics to be covered include: botany, diagnosing plant diseases, entomology, soils & fertilizers, lawn care, herbs, vegetable gardening, woody plants, pruning, fruits, perennials, annuals, integrated pest management and organic gardening.

By attending the Master Gardener training, you will become a more knowledgeable gardener.

Anyone interested in learning more about gardening may attend the course. Preregistration by Aug. 24 is required. Class size will be limited. The fee for this training is $225 per person. The Cornell Master Gardener manual will be provided electronically.

If you have a passion for volunteering and gardening, this training is the first step to becoming a Genesee County Master Gardener volunteer.

Genesee County residents who graduate from the program are then eligible to apply to become a volunteer. (Other county residents should contact their local Master Gardener program.)

A Master Gardener volunteer should have a willingness to give back to the community and help put into practice what they learned at training. Enthusiasm for sharing their gardening skills and knowledge is a must.

For an application or to register contact Jan Beglinger at (585) 343-3040, ext. 132, or stop by the Extension office at 420 E. Main St. in Batavia.

The Genesee County 4-H Program is now accepting registrations for its new 4-H Junior Master Gardeners Club.

The club is open to youth age 8-13 and is a collaboration between the Genesee County 4-H Program and Genesee County Master Gardeners. Participating youth will work on a variety of hands-on gardening projects.

The club is scheduled to begin meeting on Wednesdays in late April.

Space is limited. Youth must be enrolled in the Genesee County 4-H Program to participate. Enrollment fees for Genesee County residents are $25 per youth or $50 per family of two or more youths.

To register or receive more information, please contact the Genesee County 4-H Office at genesee4h@cornell.edu or (585) 343-3040, ext. 101. Enrollment forms are also available on our website.

Conservation supplies are also available for sale.

All plants are sold for conservation purposes.

If you'd like some eye-popping visual appeal -- vivid color, you might like to try a species new in the district program this year -- the scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea). In the fall, its leaves are a real nice brilliant red, says District Manager Brad Mudrzynski. The acorn-producing scarlet oak makes a great shade tree.

Also new here this year are cover crop mix seed packets for small gardens -- up to 2,500 square feet. The ground-cover mix, which costs $5.50 per package, helps prevent erosion and holds nutrients like organic compost materials well in the soil.

Orders are filled on a first come, first serve basis. The district reserves the right to substitute species or refund payment if a choice of yours is unavailable.

Cash or check only accepted, checks should be payable to GCSWCD. Orders are due by March 10 on completed order forms (PDF) (Print out, fill in).

Pickup dates are typically between mid to late April and information will be sent after April 1.

For assistance, call the GCSWCD at (585) 343-2362, ext. 5, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Start 2021 by joining the Genesee County Master Gardeners for another year of Garden Talk!

On Jan. 21 at noon, we will kick off the series with “DIY Teacup Garden Art.” Master Gardener Bonnie B will share with us her tips for repurposing glassware. This is a fun, easy DIY project to combat the long winter days and create some garden art for a garden enthusiast or yourself!

Feb. 4 – “Sunflowers!” with Master Gardener Brandie W. Sunflowers are a bright and cheerful addition to any garden. They are easy to grow from seed in almost any type of soil and can be sown in succession for a season full of colorful blooms. Sunflowers can be grown for cut flowers, a colorful garden display or even for edible seed; for you or the birds.  Whether you want short, medium, or tall; yellow, burgundy or orange, there’s a sunflower for you.

March 4 –  “No Mow Yards” Manicured lawns are a staple for most front yards. They require a great deal of money and work to keep lush and provide little to no support of a diverse ecosystem. Master Gardener Connie B will explore alternatives to the front lawn that are biodiverse, nature friendly and low maintenance.

For the foreseeable future all Garden Talk programs will be via Zoom. Garden Talk runs from noon to 12:45 p.m. This free series is open to all.  Registration is required. A Zoom link will be sent to your email with your personal link to the event.

Please visit our events page at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County website.

Master Gardener events will be posted on the CCE Genesee County website and on our Facebook page. Check out our YouTube page for previously recorded gardening programs.

Join the Genesee County Master Gardeners as we “Catch the Gardening Bug” this fall. We will be offering a series of noontime, gardening-themed programs via Zoom. If you are looking for garden inspiration and know-how, check out these classes.

• On Oct. 1, join us for Garden Talk "Easy Preserving." Catherine, our CCE Master Food Preserver volunteer, will show us some quick and easy ways to preserve fall bounty from the garden. Catherine will demonstrate how to safely prepare infused-flavored oils and flavored vinegars. She will also demonstrate how to make sauerkraut at home!
• Got dahlias? Not sure what to do with them at the end of the season? Join Master Gardener Brandie on Oct. 15 as we explore “What to do with those dahlias.” Brandie will explain how she manages her dahlia collection. She will cover when to dig them up, how she overwinters her dahlias and how to divide them. Get your dahlia questions answered!
• Oct. 28 finds us exploring “A Witch's Garden” with Master Gardener Connie. Witches were once considered wise women and healers. They used plants they grew or found in their environment to cure ills as well as cast spells. You, too, may have your very own witch's garden -- come explore the folklore and plants of the witch.

This series is free and open to all. Preregistration is required. You can register at our website here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the link to join the program.

Future topics and other Master Gardener events will be posted on the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County website and also on our Facebook page. Contact (585) 343-3040, ext. 101, for more information about this or other CCE programs.

Not to be outdone by anyone in Batavia, proud grandmother Mayja Andrews, of Le Roy, sent us this photo Tuesday of her granddaughter, Eva Goff, and her 12-foot-high sunflowers.

Eva, a student at Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School, has been "staying busy" this summer by tending garden and getting her sunflowers to flourish, according to her grandma.

If you drive down Ross Street past the Richmond Memorial Library, you are likely to spot a full and beautiful bed of flowers along the driveway leading to the library entrance.

The flowers -- lisianthus -- are a gift of Nancy Mortellaro, who started buying and donating the plants to the library's garden four years ago. Billy Truitt has volunteered each year to plant the flowers and help tend to them.

"I think they’re gorgeous," Mortellaro said. "They look like roses. They’re gorgeous and they last a long, long, long time in a vase."

Mortellaro buys the seedlings from Aaron Harrington Byron. She also grows them at her own house and at the community garden. The plants at the community garden can be used to replace any at the library that fail to flourish. 

Truitt said he doesn't remember the flowers producing as many blooms as this season.

Lisianthus grows as an annual in the Northeast but is a perennial on the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico, where it's known as Prairie gentian or Texas bluebell.

Beautiful, colorful hanging baskets of petunias and million bells* are $20 each.

No order limits; colors will be first-come first-serve at pick up.

Orders are due Thursday, May 28th.

Click here to order.

Pick up Monday, June 1, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, 420 E. Main St., Batavia.

Payment by cash, or check made payable to "CCE Genesee."

To order: contact a 4-H FCS Club member or email:   Aliciamkeller@outlook.com

*Calibrachoa, commonly called million bells or trailing petunia.