Dr. Cynthia Wood, Author at Farmville - Page 6 of 9

Columns

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 find henbit and purple dead nettle infesting ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, March 21, 2019 8:42 am

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

The art of keeping plants alive

About every six weeks, I get a text from someone I know. It contains only a photo of a very sad looking house plant. No ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Tuesday, March 19, 2019 8:52 am

Columns

Pass-along garden

We gardeners just naturally share plants. In fact, it’s not unusual for someone to have what’s fondly known as a pass-along garden. You know the ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Wednesday, February 27, 2019 6:06 pm

Columns

Naming plants

When people on my Facebook wildflower page talk about plants, there can be massive confusion. Many of them are intimidated by scientific names so they ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, February 7, 2019 9:32 am

Columns

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 and clock tower glowing red in the ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, January 10, 2019 7:33 am

Columns

After the storm

January is usually all about reading seed catalogs by a roaring fire and making endless wish lists of new exotic plants that I absolutely must ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, January 3, 2019 9:46 am

Columns

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 dawn and the ground is getting cold. ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, December 13, 2018 8:22 am

Columns

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 small cans. They were precooked, brownish gray ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, December 6, 2018 9:30 am

Columns

The Wild Onion Controversy

As many of you know, I manage a Virginia Wildflower Community Page on Facebook. It has just under 2,000 members, many of whom are very ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, November 8, 2018 7:45 am

Columns

Those crazy plant people

We plant people tend to be a crazy, obsessive bunch. We plant the same variety of tomato that our grandparents did even though it’s finicky ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, November 1, 2018 8:11 am

Columns

Dodder: An interesting parasite

Yesterday I was driving on the Powhite Parkway, getting ready to merge onto 288 S. when something bright orange caught my eye. There in some ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 27, 2018 7:36 am

Columns

Eat local: Grow your own

Go to just about any restaurant these days and you’re likely to hear a recitation of the origins of every ingredient on your plate: the ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 20, 2018 8:07 am

Columns

A tale of a swale

Generally, I don’t get involved in moving earth to change the lay of the land when I garden. If there are hills, flat areas and ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 13, 2018 10:09 am

Columns

Thugs and potential thugs

I’ve been searching for wildflowers since I was about 12 years old. It’s what my dad and I did on Sunday afternoon. One summer when ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 6, 2018 7:32 am

Columns

Curing the August doldrums

It was unspeakably hot and dry, and then we got lots of rain. My hostas look as if they’ve been subjected to a long session ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, August 9, 2018 8:16 am

Columns

Species of roses

Roses are very old flowering plants. Fossil evidence shows that they’re around 35 million years old. The cultivation of roses probably began in China over ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, August 2, 2018 7:48 am

Columns

Roses and garden envy

It’s true. Garden envy is a terrible thing, but I admit that I have a serious case. My friends in Devon have the most amazing ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, July 5, 2018 7:50 am

Columns

The mystique of lady’s slippers

Virginia has quite a few species of native orchids. Some are showy, while others are almost drab by comparison; they don’t look the way most ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, June 28, 2018 9:24 am

Columns

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 of photos of plants with yellow blooms ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, June 7, 2018 8:27 am

Columns

It’s June: Take a break

The early spring madness of clean up, pot up, sow seeds, moan about dead plants, and rush around like a crazy person is over. The ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, May 31, 2018 7:28 am

Columns

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 the boundary between yard and fields and ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:02 am

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 a short perennial plant with thick, dark ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, May 17, 2018 7:42 am

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. It was more than halfway around the ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, April 5, 2018 10:04 am

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. There certainly are plenty of tropical orchids, ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, March 22, 2018 8:10 am

MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN

Consider the dandelion

Dandelions. Children are endlessly fascinated by them. They’re often the first flower that kids can identify, and probably the only one that they can pick ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, March 15, 2018 1:34 pm

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 your home garden to see how it ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, February 8, 2018 8:53 am

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 in the new year is the one ... Read more

by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, February 1, 2018 8:08 am

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