Cornell Gardening Classes- February 8 and 22, 2025 from 9am to 11:45am at Aurora Senior Center, 101 King Street on February 8 and Knox Mansion on February 22. $25 per class.
2025 marks the twenty-first year of ‘Bloom’ classes offered by the Master Gardeners of Erie County. Classes will be of interest to both beginning and veteran gardeners.
Saturday, February 8
Aurora Senior Center,101 King Street, East Aurora 14052
- 9:00 – 10:15 am ‘Building a Climate Resilient Garden’ Peggy Koppmann
As our climate changes, gardeners can look to increasing biodiversity, selecting the “right plant for the right place”, adapting watering routines, and other strategies to create a garden that can better adapt to our evolving environmental conditions.
- 10:30 – 11:45 am ‘Critter Management’ Mary Kamien & Michelle Dunham
It is not possible to make your garden completely critter-proof, but there are ways to minimize their impact on your garden. We’ll cover some strategies to deal with hungry critters who think your yard is a buffet and some plants they typically avoid.
Saturday, February 22
Mansion at Knox Farm State Park, E Aurora
- 9:00- 10:15 am ‘Plant Propagation Methods’ Carol Ann Harlos
Propagating plants is fun, rewarding, and FREE. We’ll cover leaf, stem and softwood cuttings, layering, and division as methods of expanding your collection of indoor and outdoor plant varieties
- 10:30 – 11:45 am ‘Can We Preserve Boxwoods on our Landscapes?: A Look at Box Tree Moth and Other Insect and Disease Threats’ Margery Daughtrey, Cornell University and Sharon Bachman, CCE Erie
Using the lens of integrated pest management, we will look at what is required to grow healthy boxwoods, the pests that threaten them and alternative shrubs you might consider for your landscape. We will also cover monitoring programs for Box Tree Moth (BTM) and the use of bio-controls. (Following the session, we will check nearby boxwoods to see if we can find BTM overwintering. They overwinter as caterpillars!)
Fee: Master Gardeners: $20/each date Public: $25/each date
