2014 Buffalo Bucket List

It’s the first day of spring – YIPPEE!!!!! That means my on-call time for snow is almost over (come on, April 1^st!) and soon I’ll be able to use all that comp time I racked up. I’ve got plenty of trips and races on my schedule this spring, summer and fall, but I’m also looking forward to exploring this wonderful place I live. Here are 10 places and things I’m looking forward to checking out over the next few months – at least until the snow flies again :(

• Plantasia – Plantasia opens today – perfect timing! I’ll be hitting the show this weekend, getting all kinds of ideas for my garden and backyard.
• Route 20 Ice Cream – located in Orchard Park, Route 20 features – in addition to great Perry’s Ice Cream – a cool “retro” museum with items from “eras gone by,” including a fully-operational 1955 GE TV!
• Canalside – I have yet to check out the new downtown venue for EVERYTHING – concerts, fitness classes, special events and much more.
• Erie BasinMarina Trial Garden – visited this on a Garden Festival bus trip a couple of years ago – hopefully this will still be on Garden Walk Buffalo’s drop-off route.
• Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival – the inaugural festival at the Japanese Garden, part of Delaware Park and located behind the Buffalo History Museum.
• Seneca Niagara Casino – I haven’t been to the casino in over two years – therefore I haven’t seen the updates!
• Garden Walk Buffalo – celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year, it’s the largest garden walk in the COUNTRY, with more than 350 open gardens.
• Buffalo Bisons game – I haven’t been to a Bisons game in years either – affordable fun!
• Buffalo Bites food tour – I saw a television piece on Ch. 2 about these tours last year – I immediately said, “I need to go on one of these!”
• Buffalo Central Terminal – the Central Terminal is being renovated to its former glory – my uncle is one of the retired volunteer sheet metal workers who have already reconstructed some of the pieces.

2014 Garden Walks in Buffalo

Here’s a preliminary list of this year’s garden walks and tours in conjunction with the National Garden Festival (not a full list!).

• Lewiston Garden Fest – June 21^st and 22^nd
• Parkside Garden Tour – June 29^th
• Town of Amherst Garden Tour – July 12^th
• The Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk – July 12^th and 13^th
• Lockport in Bloom – July 12^th and 13^th
• Village of Williamsville Garden Tour – July 19^th
• KenTon Garden Tour – July 18^th and 19^th – Night Lights, July 19^th and 20^th – daytime
• Garden Walk Buffalo – July 26^th and 27^th
• Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens – August 2^nd

Planning the garden 2014: Zinnias

When it comes to my annual garden in front of my house, I tend to go with actual plants – marigolds, coleus, perilla, New Guinea impatiens (and “regular” impatiens before downy mildew) – mixed with bulbs like glads, cannas and dahlias. Over the last couple of years, I added some seeds to the mix: my corner cutting garden of zinnias.

Zinnias are some of the greatest flowers ever because they’re so easy to grow from seed: you can direct seed by digging a shallow trench (1/2” to 3/4"), planting the seeds, covering them and watering – within a few weeks, you’ll see all kinds of little green plants sprouting up! Once they start poppin’, you’ll probably want to thin them out some, either by eliminating smaller seedlings or by transplanting them into other areas. I, however, do not practice what I just preached (or at least what I’ve read): I leave them all grow, tall and colorful – I haven’t had too many problems with spots until late in the season (like mid- to late September).

My favorite thing about zinnias – besides their simplicity – is the wide range of colors they’re available in. Red, pink, orange, green (yes, green flowers!), purple, violet, white – there are also lots of bi-color flowers! I plant a variety of colors and bi-colors, and use them in vases throughout my kitchen, dining area and living room.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com - 2013

NIGHT LIGHTS at the Gardens: February 4th, 2014

Just before the latest round of snow hit my world, I was able to make it to Photographer Night at NIGHT LIGHTS at the Gardens, a very cool display hosted by the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. This is the fourth year for NIGHT LIGHTS, and my second year attending.

The coolest place to take pictures by far is the Palm Dome, the center of the Gardens. The lighting used on the palms creates an almost abstract art feel – it would be difficult to determine you were looking at palms.

Something else that looked really cool: topiary T Rex. He was bathed in red lights and his red eyes were glowing something nasty!

Here are a few more photos from the night…the calm before the latest storm!

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Planning the garden 2014: Vegetables

My veggie garden in early July 2013

2013 was the first year I had an “actual” vegetable garden – not a little piece of another garden where I stuffed a tomato plant and a couple rows of beans, but an actual designated space for planting tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and more. I bought a four-section “polywood” raised bed garden from Sam’s Club, and proceeded to have all kinds of fun.

This is Poquito - cute, huh?

What worked? My cherry tomato plant, “Sweet 100” from HiWay Gardens, went crazy – well over 400 little red beauties (I kept track when I harvested because I’m crazy that way). Did well on beans too (those were for Dad), and was surprised at how well I did with a cute little Zucchini called Poquito – and by the fact that I actually liked zucchini! (When mixed with chocolate chips or lemon in bread form, of course!)

What didn’t work? On-Deck corn, which was supposed to grow in containers and small spaces – didn’t work well for me in either. I also tried planting a second season of beans – that one I was a couple of weeks late on (another reason I write things down!).

What’s up for 2014? Poquito’s coming back, and I’ll probably stick with the same tomato and pepper plants from HiWay that I used last year. I’ve purchased cucumber, bean and lettuce seeds, and some new strawberry shoots (I think mine are about 10 years old!). I also bought a blueberry bush - this year’s experiment!

photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com.

Quick comforts: Easy stovetop mac-n-cheese

When the winter weather gets beyond cold – like -22 with the wind chill! That’s just nuts! – comfort foods like macaroni and cheese are beyond perfect. Creamy cheese and pasta – can it get better? Not for me!

credit: paulathompsonfreelance.com

This stovetop mac-n-cheese, adapted from this recipe by Erica Lea on Buttered Side Up, is quick, simple and warm enough for these cold Buffalo nights that seem to be never ending…a lot like our snow this season – I feel like I’m in a perpetual snow globe: the minute the snow stops, someone shakes things up and it starts snowing again!

Stovetop mac-n-cheese

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces pasta of choice (I used a multi-shaped pasta)
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine (note: if you’ll be warming leftovers up in the microwave, you may want to cut this back a tablespoon or two – there was a lot left over after warm-up!)
• 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons cream

Cook pasta according to package instructions and to your preferred softness. Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Add butter to the pasta while hot and cover the pot to allow butter to melt a bit. Uncover, add cheese and cream, and stir. Put the lid back on and let it sit, stirring every couple of minutes (note: it will take about 6 to 8 minutes for the cheese to become “saucy”). Serve immediately, storing leftovers in the fridge. To reheat on the stovetop, add a little more cream to the pot. To reheat in the microwave, put the leftovers in a microwave safe plate or bowl and heat at 70% for 75 to 90 seconds.

Planning the garden 2014: Sci-Fi/Fantasy garden

The Sci-Fi/Fantasy garden - 2013

I’ve got a small garden at the corner of my garage that has evolved over many years in both size and theme. For the last few years, and likely for many to come, it has been my Sci-Fi/Fantasy garden, thanks in most part to my love of Star Wars.

The first plant I found in 2012 was the Dark Angel Star Wars dahlia, a bushy plant with red and yellow flowers and burgundy foliage – it totally reminds me of Mustafar. The same year, I added the Darth Vader coleus from Rosy Dawn – dark and dramatic, like our favorite heavy-walking, heavy-breathing bad guy.

When both did well, I expanded on the Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme for 2013: enter the Lord Voldemort coleus, another bad dude wreaking havoc on the film world, also from Rosy Dawn. I love Rosy Dawn for unique coleus, which have become some of my favorite plants as a gardener.

For 2014, the collection grows again: Harry Potter’s owl Hedwig now has a coleus, and Game of Thrones enters the picture with coleus Moon and Stars, as Khaleesi always called Khal Drago. I also found a succulent called Hobbit from Michigan Bulb – gotta find a cool container for that one, because it’s not hardy in the B-lo zone.

I also found another element for the garden – check out that piece in another entry!