The first episode of Now We’re Gardening LIVE! premiered on Saturday, April 6th 2024. Local gardening experts showed us what to do for a solid Spring clean-up, discussed the ins and outs of using indigenous plants in the yard, and explored the new trend for creating Cocktail Herb Gardens!
Whether you are a gardening beginner or a seasoned pro, this one-hour special will inspire and inform you with tips, tricks, and resources to have you “garden-ready” for the season and beyond.
Our WNED PBS hosts Heather Hare and Peter Hall in the studio were joined by garden experts Mike Braddell of Lakeside Supply Co., Lynn Birkman of Northtown Gardening Center, and Sarah Sorci of Sweet Flag Herbs.
The Western New York region may have a reputation for long winters and record snowfall, but it’s also known for its robust gardening community – boasting one of the oldest Garden Walks and the largest gardening tourism entity in the United States. In the city alone, over 400 residents proudly display their landscape creations during the self-guided Buffalo Garden Walk, which celebrates its 30th year in 2024. Tens of thousands of visitors are drawn to the Buffalo-Niagara area each summer for numerous garden events, from the Northtowns to the Southtowns and in just about every neighborhood in between.
Now We’re Gardening LIVE! can be streamed on Buffalo Toronto Public Media’s YouTube channel, viewed on 17.1 WNED PBS, online, and through the WNED PBS mobile app.
Now We’re Gardening LIVE! is made possible by our members, and by:
Giveaway
One lucky audience member won a FREE BigYellowBag from our friends at Lakeside Sod Supply. The bag, valued at $169, contains a full cubic yard of mulch and was delivered directly to the winner's home!
Meet the Garden Experts
Mike Braddell, Owner of Lakeside Sod Supply Co.
Mike Braddell is a third-generation sod producer and co-owner of Lakeside Sod Supply Co. in Clarence Center, NY. Serving Western New York and Northeast Pennsylvania since 1966, Lakeside Sod supplies dependable products and reliable service for both residential customers’ and industry professionals’ sod, seed, and fertilizer needs.
Lynn Birkman, General Manager of Northtown Gardening Center
Lynn Birkman has been working in the gardening industry for nearly thirty years. She is a graduate of Alfred State College and holds a degree in ornamental horticulture/Landscape Development. Lynn spent ten years as a landscape designer before moving on to retail garden center management, where she is now currently part-owner of Northtown Garden Center in Tonawanda, New York. Offering nursery stock, greenhouse plants and garden décor, Northtown Garden Center has been a local go-to for gardeners for over thirty-five years.
Sarah Sorci, Educator and Owner of Sweet Flag Herbs
Sarah Sorci is an herbal educator and the owner of Sweet Flag Herbs near Jamestown, NY. Through classes, educational resources, and garden consultations, Sarah facilitates deeper connections with our local ecosystem and our ancestors by way of the plant world. Her collaborative book Living Ancestry: Connecting with Cultural Heritage through Plants, Nature, and Our Senses is available on the Sweet Flag Herbs website and in local stores.
Sarah came to herbalism by way of an Environmental Studies/Sustainable Development degree, farm work, coordinating non-profit projects, and offering therapeutic garden programming. She is a 2014 graduate of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine's Holistic Herbalism program.
Sarah lives and gardens with her husband in Chautauqua County. For more information about her work and classes, visit sweetflagherbs.com and follow along on Instagram and Facebook @sweetflagherbs.
