Lifestyles
Coltsfoot: an early sign of spring
By late February, most of us are so desperate for early signs of spring that we’re overjoyed to ... Read more
Author: Dr. Cynthia Wood - Page 6 | The Farmville Herald
Lifestyles
The art of keeping plants alive
About every six weeks, I get a text from someone I know. It contains only a photo of ... Read more
Lifestyles
Pass-along garden
We gardeners just naturally share plants. In fact, it’s not unusual for someone to have what’s fondly known ... Read more
Lifestyles
Naming plants
When people on my Facebook wildflower page talk about plants, there can be massive confusion. Many of them ... Read more
Lifestyles
Virginia Creeper: vibrant color to brighten a fall day
Visit that massive stone heap, Blenheim Palace, in October and you’ll find the walls near the main entrance ... Read more
Lifestyles
After the storm
January is usually all about reading seed catalogs by a roaring fire and making endless wish lists of ... Read more
Lifestyles
Procrastination and the shortest day of the year
It’s early December and the shortest day of the year is upon us. The air is frosty before ... Read more
Lifestyles
Blue Mushrooms and Hens for Dinner
When I was a kid, about a 1,000 years ago, mushrooms were an exotic food that came in ... Read more
Lifestyles
The Wild Onion Controversy
As many of you know, I manage a Virginia Wildflower Community Page on Facebook. It has just under ... Read more
Lifestyles
Those crazy plant people
We plant people tend to be a crazy, obsessive bunch. We plant the same variety of tomato that ... Read more
Lifestyles
Dodder: An interesting parasite
Yesterday I was driving on the Powhite Parkway, getting ready to merge onto 288 S. when something bright ... Read more
Lifestyles
Eat local: Grow your own
Go to just about any restaurant these days and you’re likely to hear a recitation of the origins ... Read more
Lifestyles
A tale of a swale
Generally, I don’t get involved in moving earth to change the lay of the land when I garden. ... Read more
Lifestyles
Thugs and potential thugs
I’ve been searching for wildflowers since I was about 12 years old. It’s what my dad and I ... Read more
Lifestyles
Curing the August doldrums
It was unspeakably hot and dry, and then we got lots of rain. My hostas look as if ... Read more
Lifestyles
Species of roses
Roses are very old flowering plants. Fossil evidence shows that they’re around 35 million years old. The cultivation ... Read more
Lifestyles
Roses and garden envy
It’s true. Garden envy is a terrible thing, but I admit that I have a serious case. My ... Read more
Lifestyles
The mystique of lady’s slippers
Virginia has quite a few species of native orchids. Some are showy, while others are almost drab by ... Read more
Lifestyles
Yellow confusion in Mother Nature’s garden
It all began with a series of posts on my Facebook wildflower community page. There was a flurry ... Read more
Lifestyles
It’s June: Take a break
The early spring madness of clean up, pot up, sow seeds, moan about dead plants, and rush around ... Read more
Lifestyles
Mock orange: An old favorite for today’s garden
Many years ago, everyone’s grandma had several mock orange bushes in her garden. They were used to mark ... Read more
Columns
A tale of two plants
Walk through just about any wooded area in Prince Edward or surrounding counties and you’re likely to find ... Read more
Columns
Old friends rediscovered in new places
Nearly 10 years ago, I found some trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) at Holliday Lake on the Lakeshore Trail. ... Read more
Columns
Bletilla: A Tough Orchid for the Home Garden
People tend to think of orchids as fragile, showy tropical plants that are too finicky for home gardeners. ... Read more
Columns
Consider the dandelion
Dandelions. Children are endlessly fascinated by them. They’re often the first flower that kids can identify, and probably ... Read more
Columns
Native Plants for winter interest
It’s still cold in the woods, so February is the perfect time to take a leisurely stroll through ... Read more
Columns
Allium ‘Millenium’: 2018 Perennial of the Year
There are several groups that name perennial plants of the year, but the announcement I always watch for ... Read more