Dr. Cynthia Wood, Author at Farmville

Daylilies

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: The Daylily Whisperer

Some gardeners grow lots of different plants. Others fall in love with one or two plants and specialize in them. Louise Walton was one of ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:00 pm

too hot in the garden

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: It’s too hot in the garden

We’ve had day after day of temperatures above 90F, and the heat has taken a toll on both humans and plants. We’re all singing Cole ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, July 14, 2024 2:46 pm

plants resupinate

Columns

Mother Nature’s Garden: Do your plants resupinate?

Plants do amazing things. Vines can twine in either counterclockwise or clockwise directions. Our native wisteria twines counterclockwise, but Japanese wisteria twines clockwise. Some plants, ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, July 6, 2024 10:28 am

ferns

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Ferns: Old friends and new ones

I went to art class last week obsessing about woodcocks and how to draw their intricately mottled feathers. I left with thoughts of ferns. Before ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 2:37 pm

Praying to the plants

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Praying to the plants

Every spring I make the rounds of local state parks so that I can photograph both ephemerals and other early blooming wildflowers. Powhatan State Park ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, May 3, 2024 5:11 am

mother nature's garden

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Identifying and documenting plants

One of the joys of living in the country is roaming about looking for interesting plants and then learning about them. A friend of mine ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, April 26, 2024 10:55 am

Through the Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through The Garden Gate: Dinner parties and otherworldly vegetables

In 1972 Ricky Nelson sang about going to a garden party and being disappointed by what happened; he was booed at Madison Square Garden. Several ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, March 21, 2024 6:00 pm

Mother Nature's Garden

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: February is an in-between month

February is an in-between month for wildflower enthusiasts. It’s still winter, but there are glimmerings of life in the woods. The skunk cabbages are up ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, February 23, 2024 5:06 pm

Through the Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: Controversy in the garden

My gardening friends in England and Scotland are bemoaning the rise of what they call eco-rectitude. They’re all responsible gardeners who never use pesticides or ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, February 4, 2024 6:28 pm

Mother Nature's Garden

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Column: Stillness and quiet

For my family, the period from Halloween until the end of the year can be a wild, crazy, mad time of celebrations, food, decorations, and ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, January 21, 2024 9:20 am

Quiet in the Garden

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the garden Gate: Quiet in the Garden

During the height of the pandemic, baby Anca and I would sit on the porch steps and listen to the late-night sounds. The world seemed ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, January 6, 2024 10:55 am

importance of trees

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: The importance of trees

When we moved into our current home 35 years ago, our street was lined with dogwoods, and nearly every house was surrounded by trees. Since ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Monday, January 1, 2024 11:42 am

Through the Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: December in the Garden

December is usually a quiet time in the garden. The days are short, and the temperature is crisp. It’s a time for rest, reflection, and ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, December 3, 2023 6:45 pm

Snake Plant

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: Behold the Snake Plant

Many years ago, everyone’s front parlor had one. It sat in a dark corner in that cold, seldom-used room where it was definitely out of ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, November 11, 2023 10:25 am

Hardy Citrus

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: The Hardy Citrus

Several times this past summer, strangers stopped me to ask about an odd plant they’d seen off Milnwood Road. They all said that it looked ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, November 2, 2023 5:00 pm

Through the Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: Change in the garden

When we bought our house over 30 years ago, it was surrounded by massive oak trees. They provided shade, protection from wind, and much pleasure. ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, October 28, 2023 5:56 pm

chinese yam

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: The Chinese Yam: Friend or Foe?

There are two kinds of alleys in my hometown: The neat, tidy ones with pavement and carefully trimmed edges and then all the others. The ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, October 6, 2023 1:22 pm

Through the Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through The Garden Gate: A look through other people’s gardens

Curiosity killed the cat! Cats are, indeed, known for being curious and for getting into trouble because of their curiosity.  I suspect that gardeners are ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 21, 2023 12:13 pm

Honeyvine

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Honeyvine: Friend or Foe

Several days ago, I took a very early morning walk through my neighborhood because I was hoping to avoid the heat while still getting a ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, September 2, 2023 12:47 pm

Through The Garden Gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: The best of intentions

Way back in late January, when I was still browsing plant catalogs and making wish lists of plants that I would, oh so love to ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, August 27, 2023 10:32 am

Mother Nature's Garden

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Who was Bouncing Bet

Who was Bouncing Bet and what was she doing? And how did black-eyed Susan get her name? The common names of plants are colorful, imaginative, ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, August 20, 2023 2:07 pm

Through the garden gate

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the garden gate: Plants that thrive in hot summer weather

It’s hot and humid and my garden has a bad case of the blahs. Truth be told, so do I. We both need an injection ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, August 5, 2023 12:03 am

wildflowers

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Talking about some ‘unloved’ wildflowers

Every year people get super excited when the first Virginia bluebells appear. And when the pink lady’s slippers bloom, well, there is almost mass hysteria. ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, July 7, 2023 6:31 pm

cream violet

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: Let’s talk about serendipity & cream violet

There’s a certain amount of serendipity involved in taking people to see wildflowers. You just never know whether the plants you saw four days earlier ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, June 23, 2023 2:05 pm

Garden Clubs

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

Through the Garden Gate: Garden Clubs — Not just who raised the best rose

There is a long history of clubs just for men – social, botanical, historical, culinary, even ones for explorers. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, June 2, 2023 12:54 pm

COLUMN

Through the Garden Gate: Time to fight against Mother Nature

Several years ago, I visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. The gardens were at their peak at the end of the 1800s, and ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, May 12, 2023 4:50 pm

Mother Nature's Garden

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Mother Nature’s Garden: The amazing things that plants do

While plants don’t move around like animals, that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of reacting to their environment. For example, they respond to gravity. Roots respond ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, May 6, 2023 4:34 pm

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