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 ...
Dr. Cynthia Wood, Author at Farmville
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, February 23, 2024 5:06 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, February 4, 2024 6:28 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, January 21, 2024 9:20 am
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, January 6, 2024 10:55 am
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Monday, January 1, 2024 11:42 am
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, December 3, 2023 6:45 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, November 11, 2023 10:25 am
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, November 2, 2023 5:00 pm
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. ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, October 28, 2023 5:56 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, October 6, 2023 1:22 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Thursday, September 21, 2023 12:13 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, September 2, 2023 12:47 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, August 27, 2023 10:32 am
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, ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, August 20, 2023 2:07 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, August 5, 2023 12:03 am
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. ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, July 7, 2023 6:31 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, June 23, 2023 2:05 pm
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 ...
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Friday, May 12, 2023 4:50 pm
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 ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, May 6, 2023 4:34 pm
Columns
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 a while, things don’t go according to ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, April 29, 2023 6:01 pm
MOTHER NATURE'S GARDEN
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 ago, I was desperate to find this ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, April 22, 2023 11:34 am
Columns
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 escape from the hassle of everyday life. ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, March 5, 2023 12:20 pm
Columns
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 of skunk-cabbage buds already advanced toward a ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Saturday, February 25, 2023 12:54 pm
Columns
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. They’ve been here forever!” Explaining what makes ...
by Dr. Cynthia Wood, Sunday, February 12, 2023 8:51 am
Columns
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 and then teases us with warm, breezy ...