CCE Onondaga Master Gardener Program

06/08/2026

There is also a link to a segment found on Channel 9 news about our Block and Bloom project:

Each year, the Onondaga Master Gardeners select a city block for th...

06/08/2026

We got some nice coverage on Channel 9 for Blocks in Bloom. There is both video and a write-up. Such a great project; it’s so inspiring to see everyone come together for a great goal. And the mayor even sent her Commissioner of Parks to check out what we were doing.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — What’s a home without a garden? “It’s missing color, it’s missing vibrancy, it’s missing nature,” longtime gardener Sue Lewis said. “All tho…

06/06/2026

Thanks to many Master Gardeners for volunteering with the Blocks in Bloom project. This year we were at 200 block of West Borden Ave. We had worked with the owners to select the plants they like and spend 3 hours planting with them this morning. Great jobs everyone! 🌱💕🪴🌸

06/04/2026

Skaneateles Rain Garden - Weeding and mulching accomplished! Signs are in the ground too, so folks can stop by and learn!

06/03/2026

Summer Checklist

Summer is here! Our plants are growing rapidly and it can be hard to keep up. Managing soil and water for drought and flood resilience, pulling weeds, and deterring pests and diseases will yield beauty and abundance from our gardens. Companion planting, maintaining habitat for beneficial insects, and other forms of integrated pest management are ecological practices we can use to
reduce our workload and increase our garden yields.

05/31/2026

Master gardeners volunteered to help with the Collamer United Church garden cleanup on Saturday, May 30. Great job everyone! 🌱💕🪴

05/22/2026

Sustainable Lawn Care

Establish different zones of your lawn using selective mowing. Allow areas that you don’t need for lawn to grow and flower into habitat, or turn them into gardens or walking paths. Leave grass clippings to decompose back into the lawn for best nutrient cycling, and mulch the clippings. A late fall mowing will keep woody plants from growing in your low mow areas. Mow your lawn to 4 inches about every other week to allow for proper root growth and nutrition. This will allow wildflower species to bloom and provide nectar for pollinators and other beneficial insects.

05/21/2026

Master Gardener’s meeting was opened to the public as an educational gardening event, and we had several demonstrations and educational stations throughout the evening, including:

- Potato planting demonstration
- Apple tree installation talk
- Tick information table
- Composting information
- Pollinator and cut flower garden discussions
- Tomato plant giveaway
- General “Ask a Master Gardener Volunteer” table

We had a great turnout and the public had the opportunity to walk through the gardens and ask gardening questions throughout the evening. 🌱❤️🌱

05/13/2026

I recently enjoyed a visit to the Bard College Montgomery Place historic gardens in Red Hook NY overlooking the Hudson. We enjoyed the lovely grounds & gardens dating back to 1804 and some fragrant early blooms. Many plant varieties among the structures (in need of repairs) included:

Many mature, fragrant, vigorous Wisteria vines, fragrant Viburnum, fragrant variegated Daphne shrubs, white Spanish Bluebells, Ruffled Japanese Primroses, Drumstick Alliums, purple Camassia, yellow Narcissus with Golden Hakonechloa grass, Forget-me-nots, Peonies, Lady’s Mantle and a HUGE Black Maple donated and planted in 1950!

The campus gardens, arboretum and trails are open (free) to the public and offer many events and guided walks.



https://www.bard.edu/montgomery

About Wisteria:

The lovely, mature, fragrant and vigorous Wisteria vines dominated the crumbling pillars (Red Hook NY is zone 6a-6b). Although Wisteria generally thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, with some varieties surviving in zones 3 or 4, many of the vigorous Wisteria existing in the US are likely the invasive Asian species.

The common invasive species are beautiful & fragrant but are high maintenance, difficult to control, poisonous to humans & pets and difficult to totally eradicate. (see the photo of the tall mature tree in distance with Wisteria blooming @ top of tree). The invasive vines are capable of taking down wooden trellises, pergolas, crushing gutters & downspouts.

For gardeners wanting to include the lovely Wisteria in their garden, seek out the Native American Wisteria frutescens variety. It’s a perennial woody, deciduous, vine with lavender (or occasionally white) blooms, that grow in zones 5-8. The vine attracts butterflies & beneficial pollinators. Posted by MG Pat H.

01/12/2026

Goldfinch taking cover in a Limelight Hydrangea (which is about 10 ft from a feeder). It was not deadheaded on purpose, in order to provide some protected habitat during our lake effect snow and the dried, papery flowers provide Winter interest.

Limelight (Hydrangea paniculata) can be pruned back in late Winter-early Spring before new growth starts as they bloom on new wood. This encourages bigger flowers and fuller shape by removing old growth & weak stems just above a set of new leaf buds.

Even though the shrub can be pruned back closer to the ground, still grow all new branches and bloom same Summer, I find leaving 1-2 ft. branches provides more support preventing heavy stems & blooms from splaying open & drooping to ground. Posted by MG Pat H.