Gardenette

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05/25/2026

🌿 Last day! I'll be at from 12–4pm today for the "Ask A Landscape Designer" booth — free plant + design advice, walk-ups welcome.

If you couldn't make it yesterday, today's your chance. Bring photos of your toughest spots and we'll talk it through.

📍 2121 Sheridan Dr, Tonawanda

05/24/2026

🌿 Today's the day! I'll be at from 12–4pm at the "Ask A Landscape Designer" booth.

Bring your questions, your photos, your tricky corners. I'm happy to talk through plant picks, design ideas, or that one spot that's been driving you nuts. Free, no appointment.

Back again tomorrow, same time, if today doesn't work.

📍 2121 Sheridan Dr, Tonawanda

See you there!

05/22/2026

🌿 Memorial Day Weekend

I'll be at (the old Northtown Garden Center!) hosting an "Ask A Landscape Designer" booth from 12–4pm both days.

Whether you're staring at a blank yard, trying to figure out what to plant under a maple, or wondering why nothing thrives in that one shady corner — bring your questions. We'll think through plant choices, layout, and how to make a spot actually work.

Free of charge. No appointment. Just stop in.

📍 Infinite Blooms Garden Center
2121 Sheridan Dr, Tonawanda, NY 14223
🗓️ Sunday + Monday, 12–4pm

Hope to see you there!

05/18/2026

This week on Plant This! — a native shrub that checks almost every box: sweetspire, specifically the Little Henry variety.

If you need a low, well-behaved shrub for the back of a border or a foundation planting, Little Henry sweetspire is an absolute gem. It tops out around 3 feet and has this lovely arching habit with bottlebrush-like white flowers in early summer that smell AMAZING.

But the real kicker? The fall color. We're talking deep burgundy to scarlet red that hangs on well into late fall, sometimes even early winter. In a zone 5/6 garden where fall color options for shrubs can be limited, this is a huge win.

Oh, and deer? They leave it alone. Bless.

The Details 👇

Type: Native deciduous shrub
Size: 2-3' tall, 3-4' wide
Light: Full sun to part shade (also tolerates full shade!)
Bloom: Early summer — fragrant white bottlebrush flowers
Zones: 5-9

Pros:
-Native plant that supports local pollinators
-Fragrant summer flowers
-Stunning fall foliage color
-Deer resistant
-Tolerates a wide range of light conditions including shade
-Stays compact — perfect for smaller landscapes
-Tolerates wet soil

Cons:
-Can sucker and slowly colonize (not aggressive, but keep an eye on it)
-Semi-evergreen in warmer zones but fully deciduous here in WNY
-Flowers are pretty but not super showy from a distance

Pairs well with: ferns, hostas, astilbe, hydrangeas, and other shade-tolerant perennials. Also looks great in front of taller evergreens.

Have you tried sweetspire in your garden? If you've been looking for a native shrub that stays small and plays nice, this might be your plant!

🌿🌿🌿
Nora | gardenette.com

05/16/2026

Join Nora Saintz today, May 16th, at 2:00 pm for an informative lecture: Garden Design for Beginners! 🌷

Attendees will learn how to read their site, choose plants that will thrive in the conditions they have, and apply the design fundamentals (scale, repetition, layering, and seasonal interest) that separate a collection of plants from a cohesive garden. 🪏

Admission is FREE!

To learn more or to reserve your tickets, please visit https://bnhv.org/bnhv-events/gardendesign

05/04/2026

Plant This! is going full shrub mode this week with one of my absolute favorites: spirea.

There are a LOT of spirea varieties out there and honestly most of them are great, but let me tell you about two that I think deserve a spot in every garden:

Double Play Doozie — this is my workhorse. The foliage emerges in spring with these amazing orange-red tones that transition to green, and then it hits you with dark pink flowers that rebloom all summer. It's compact, tidy, and just puts on a SHOW.

Bridal Veil — if you're going for that old romantic cottage garden feel, this is your shrub. It's a medium-sized variety with cascading white flowers in spring that look like... well, a bridal veil. Classic for a reason.

But here's what I really love about spirea in general: even the dwarf varieties are true shrubs. They're winter hardy, they come back strong every year, and you can plug them into lower spots in your garden where you need something more substantial than a perennial but smaller than a traditional shrub.

Pro tip: look for varieties with interesting foliage color — it gives you something beautiful to look at even outside of bloom season.

The Details 👇

Type: Deciduous flowering shrub
Size: 2-3' tall and wide (Double Play Doozie) / 4-6' (Bridal Veil)
Light: Full sun to part shade
Bloom: Late spring through summer (reblooming varieties)
Zones: 3-8

Pros:
-Tons of varieties to choose from for any garden style
-Reblooming varieties give you color all season
-Dwarf types are perfect for small spaces and borders
-Changing foliage color adds multi-season interest
-Very winter hardy
-Easy to prune and maintain

Cons:
-Can look a bit twiggy in winter (deciduous)
-Some older varieties can get leggy without regular pruning
-Not deer resistant (though they usually recover quickly)

Pairs well with: daylilies, ornamental grasses, boxwood or false cypress for evergreen contrast, coneflowers, and salvia.

What's your favorite spirea variety? Team Doozie or Team Bridal Veil?

🌿🌿🌿
Nora | gardenette.com

04/20/2026

This week on Plant This! — a plant that has literally saved me from the boxwood problem: false cypress.

If you've been watching your boxwoods slowly decline (or get absolutely demolished by boxwood blight), you are not alone. I've been steering clients toward false cypress as a replacement and the results have been fantastic.

Yes, it looks completely different from boxwood — and that's kind of the point. The shaggy, layered texture is SO much more interesting than a tightly clipped box. And that chartreuse spring color? Chef's kiss. It practically glows in the landscape.

The best part: it's one of the few evergreen shrubs that actually stays an appropriate size for most residential foundation plantings. No more fighting a plant that wants to eat your house.

The Details 👇

Type: Evergreen shrub
Size: 3-5' tall, 3-4' wide (varies by cultivar)
Light: Full sun to part shade
Bloom: N/A — evergreen foliage is the star
Zones: 4-8

Pros:
-One of the best boxwood alternatives out there
-Stays a manageable size for foundations and borders
-Gorgeous chartreuse to gold spring color
-Interesting shaggy texture adds depth to your landscape
-Deer resistant
-Year-round structure and color

Cons:
-Needs decent drainage — doesn't love wet feet
-Can brown in harsh winter winds if exposed
-Not as formal as boxwood (pro or con depending on your style)

Pairs well with: hydrangeas, hostas, coral bells, ornamental grasses, and dark-leafed shrubs like ninebark for contrast.

Are you team boxwood or have you made the switch? What's your favorite evergreen shrub for foundations?

🌿🌿🌿
Nora | gardenette.com

01/17/2026

Why buy new when these perfectly good planters and garden finds are ready for round two? When your neighbors stop by with compliments, you can proudly respond "Thanks—it's a rescue!"

10/29/2025

SO honored to be featured in Better Homes & Gardens!!!!

A very serious career milestone to be a part of such an iconic publication 🤯 🫠

I’ll link to the article in stories as soon as I come back down to earth. In the meantime, get out there and cut your grasses down people! #

06/13/2025

🌸💐🌺💐🌻🌷🌷💐🌸🌼🪻🪻 June is here!!! Call me up and I’ll help you plan a garden

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