Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Just a typical week in the garden
Gardening is supposed to be peaceful, calming, and restorative. Most of the time that’s true, but once in ... Read more
Author: Dr. Cynthia Wood - Page 2 | The Farmville Herald
Lifestyles
Mother’s Nature Garden: In search of Twinleaf
The earliest spring ephemerals have finished blooming, but there’s still time to see twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla.) Several years ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Butchery in the garden
Gardens seem so peaceful. We talk about them as refuges, great places to relax, read, meditate, and just ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Nature’s Garden: The Skunk Cabbages are back
“If you are afflicted with melancholy at this season, go to the swamp and see the brave spear ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Nature’s Garden: What makes a plant native?
“Ditch lilies are native. I know they are; I saw it on the internet!” “Dandelions must be native. ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through The Garden Gate — Darwin’s Orchid: An uncommon house plant
It’s February, that short month that seems to go on forever. It threatens us with cold, wet weather ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Nature’s Garden: A much needed hike and old friends
It’s Boxing Day, and life has mostly returned to normal here at Mother Nature’s Garden. The dogs are ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — ‘The neighbors are gonna talk!’
If you’re of a certain age and grew up in the South, then you’re probably familiar with this ... Read more
Farmville the Magazine
From the Ground Up — Unsung heroes of the winter garden
As Sir Francis Bacon wrote in his essay on gardens, “There ought to be gardens for all months ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate — The beauty of dry stacked stone walls
Throughout New England and the mountains in Virginia, there are stone walls built by farmers primarily from the ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Nature’s Garden — Japanese Knotweed: A seriously tough plant
Since the late 15th century, we humans have moved around 13,000 species of plants from their native habitats ... Read more
Farmville the Magazine
From the Ground Up — Green on Green: A classic, low maintenance garden design
Traditional gardening has always been about wrestling nature into submission, an approach that’s labor intensive and somewhat like ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Natures Garden — Goldenrods: Tenacious and beautiful
“You can see the goldenrod, that most tenacious and pernicious and beauteous of all New England flora, bowing ... Read more
Farmville the Magazine
From the Ground Up: Wildflower Meadows
Wildflower meadows have been an important feature of the British landscape for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, they didn’t ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate — Garden envy
A few weeks ago, I escaped to Maine to explore some gardens and late-blooming native plants there. Obviously, ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Natures Garden — Turtleheads: Flowers with an interesting shape
Even though the days are still warm, there’s a chill in the early morning and late afternoon air. ... Read more
Farmville the Magazine
From the ground up — The Joys of a Simple Garden
Farmville is blessed with many talented gardeners. Explore the various neighborhoods, and you’ll find English kitchen gardens with ... Read more
Lifestyles
Al and Betsy’s pollinator patch
Nestled at the end of a long winding driveway in Pamplin is a picturesque farm belonging to Al ... Read more
Lifestyles
Pickleweed: A great natural condiment
Way back pre-pandemic, when travel was easy, I spent some time in Cornwall with friends. It was a ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — A message from Anca
Hi fellow gardeners, it’s me, Anca. My Mom is busy filling in some holes in the backyard, so ... Read more
Farmville the Magazine
From the Ground Up — Daylilies
The Perfect Plant for the Midsummer Garden The hot, humid, potentially dry days of summer are upon us, ... Read more
Lifestyles
Common grass pink: An interesting native orchid
We tend to think of orchids as fragile, delicate plants requiring pampering, but they are extremely resilient and ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Nature’s Garden — Magnolias bloom offering fragrant pleasure
It’s magnolia time! The sweetbay magnolias have finished blooming in the wet lowlands along the High Bridge Trail, ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate: Oh! Those odd names
You all know that I’m slightly obsessed with daylilies. They’re the perfect plant for hot summer days when ... Read more
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — The joys of a simple garden
Farmville is blessed with many talented gardeners. Explore the various neighborhoods, and you’ll find English kitchen gardens with ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mother Natures Garden — Hexastylis: A plant with a steep learning curve
For years I’ve found heartleaf (Hexastylis spp.) all over Cumberland, Appomattox, Powhatan, and Prince Edward Counties. There are ... Read more
Lifestyles
Fireworks in the woods
One of my favorite spring ephemerals, the eastern shooting star (Primula meadia), has a variety of common names ... Read more