OMGosh, I am shocked to read this. I just expected Woody to always be here. I knew she had some health challenges, but I didn't realize that she was in any jeopardy.

She could always be depended on to make an interesting contriution to any thread she responded to. I am really really going to miss her and her garden, her photos of her dog, Misty? and her life in Canada by the lake, with her husband Randy. Her Wisteria vine. It just won't seem the same without her.

I am saddened to hear of this as well. Woody was a long time and valued contributor to GardenWeb and I will miss her posts and her garden photos.

I am of an age where these passings seem to be more and more frequent and every one strikes a blow at one's own mortality. If nothing else, they renew my devotion to gardening, as the whole planting and nurturing process seems to reinvigorate me, give me perspective and tune me into the cycle of life.

that is sad news..I admired her garden and her work ethic in spite of physical limitations..she will be missed..

I am very sorry to hear this. Will miss her terribly.

This makes me want to review all of her posts through the years that I have read with pleasure and an eye to learn.

Very sad news. Her garden was lovely and her advice always practical. We've lost two knowledgeable and imaginative voices with Woody and Christopher.

I join the voices who will sorely miss her voice and her beautiful garden. My deepest sympathies to her family.

O dear, our tiny community has been sadly diminished. There is a lot of quite dull, generic advice to be found, regarding horticulture so it is always a loss when the explorers, pioneers and restless spirits who enrich and delight us, are no longer speaking to our secret desires: to nurture beauty and life in all it's anarchic glory. Woody and Christopher - you will be missed...and yet the gardens you have created will remain - evolving and changing as we all must.

I too am saddened by the news of Susan no longer being with us. She was inspirational to so many with her passion and knowledge of gardening. I will never forget her.

rouge I appreciate how difficult this must have been for you. Thank you for letting us know. My heart goes out to Randy and Cole (her beloved companion).

Perennials was my home forum when I first came here, many years ago. I have drifted away, but lurked off and on for the past couple of years. I always admired woody's gardens. Mine are a far different type, but they made me long for their terrain. They really embraced what they had. Very gifted.

Woody was always a positive and delightful gardener. When I first joined GW aeons ago, Woody was one of the Idylls on the conversation side (which now no longer exists). She and the others welcomed me with open arms. Her garden has always been one of my favorites and she was always a dear imaginary friend as we called each other. My deepest condolences to Randy.

Coincidently I was thinking recently about 'woody' as I pulled out several years of "bagged" flower tags. Each plastic baggie contains a full season of plant/bulb/tree purchases.

(Of course this messy collection is of little practical use i.e. useLESS and so I had given up saving the tags for new purchases several years back)

In contrast when visiting 'woody', she knew I was impressed seeing her fully labelled photo albums/binderS of easily viewed info (tags and pics) on each plant she had purchased.

This makes me want to review all of her posts through the years

I did a very cursory search and found this thread started by Susan....I am wondering if this is the last thread she started in the forum.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6398833/lush-early-sept#28687135

I also will miss Susan terribly. It was a joy to visit her and Randy and see her garden, where she knew every plant and its history. I especially loved the serene mostly white garden behind the house, which she could see from behind her computer. A few years ago she gave me a generous piece of her lovely peony ’Auntie Sherry’. It already was ”Susan’s peony” for me, but now it will have an even deeper place in my heart as a memory of Susan.

Rouge, I was also going through some of Woody's posts yesterday evening, and I found this one, from November.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6412345/what-is-this-bulb#n=28

Heartbreaking. And too young. So Sorry.

I've been a member on gardenweb/houzz for more than 20 years and I have thought many times that if all the posts ever disappear, I would be in tears. There's so much information and old friends that are gone.

Good find @gdinieontarioz5...I think I will delete my post.

And your bit about having a flower from Susan tweaked my memory as I had forgotten that she and Randy had gifted me a clump Corydalis ochroleuca (white flowers) several years back and I know exactly where it is in the garden and now it will have extra special meaning when I pass by it come the 2024 season :).

(Hopefully @gdinieontarioz5 we can meet up sometime this summer)

Oh no, what sad news :(

I’m very sorry to hear about this. Her thoughtful, knowledgeable posts were much appreciated.

Oh, this is sad news indeed, I’m so sorry to hear this.

So sorry about this. I have known Woodyoak since the perennials conversations forum days and always looked for her posts. I will miss her presence greatly. Heartfelt condolences to the family. It's hard to believe she's gone.

Does anyone remember a thread that Woody posted about how she began the design of her garden? She had photos of the graph paper she drew her plans on etc. She was so organized and methodical.

I don't have a lot of luck finding old posts.If someone comes across it could you post it here? Well, a search on Houzz is difficult but I tried just doing a google search and in the first few results I came across this....I thnk this was part of what I was remembering....

https://woodyoak.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/gmm-chore-schedule/

This was a project she started in 2010. I see that she updated it as recently as 2022. There is an option to leave a comment at the bottom and I so much wanted to leave one and tell her how much I appreciated her and how much I truly loved her garden. And I know I posted how much I liked her garden often, but do people realize how much you mean it? Sometimes it's said so many times, it becomes routine. So I wonder, do I need to tell people more often how much I appreciate them, or do I need to say something more meaningful that really reflects the impact someone has on my life? Or are we always going to feel like we didn't say enough while we had the chance, regardless?

This is so sad to hear. I always enjoyed Woody‘s generous posts of knowledge and helpfulness. Her back shade garden has always been my favorite…just beautiful. My heart goes out to her loved ones. She will be missed dearly.

a kindred spirit.. i will miss her .. and think of her often ...

ken

Her back shade garden has always been my favorite…just beautiful.

And as part of that back garden was the green shed of which she was quite proud :)

I came across this....I thnk this was part of what I was remembering....

https://woodyoak.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/gmm-chore-schedule/

Well done @prairiemoon2 z6b MA; I had been meaning to include that link and then I saw your post.

i am sad. i always looked for her posts. i loved her shed,- the pine needled path in the back, her unruly wisteria which she never hesitated to hack back, the shared fence and no~view of the neighbor’s yard, the ”alley” with some huge plants. i could go on.

she was even tempered, helpful and knowledgeable but not a show off or name dropper.

The next time i curse the internet and kick the computer i must remember that ive met wonderful people Right here.

thank you rouge for posting and to everyone else posting memories and tributes.

“And as part of that back garden was the green shed of which she was quite proud :)”

Indeed! It is such a cute little shed in the perfect shade of green ❤️

Yes, the shed!

maybe???..after admiring woody’s shed I subconsciously started buying green pots..

Very sad. Here’s a toast to (and a taste of) woody’s posts…including the shed.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4645342/spring-accelerating#n=14

tj

Another view of the little shed just blending in, and a monarch on Susan’s beloved heptacodium. I think I posted these pictures at the time (2017), but I cannot find it back.

I‘m so sorry to hear of this. Woody was such a fixture on this forum since as long as I can remember, and was always so generous with her thoughtful responses and experienced advice. I’ll always have a picture in my head of her on the farm she grew up on and the peaceful garden she created and shared with us. My condolences to the family.

For those who wish to read Woody’s posts again, here’s a link:

https://www.houzz.com/activities/user/woodyoak/comments 

Can you believe she made over 4,700 comments? What an amazing contribution to our garden community. ❤️

This is such sad news. I can't believe we won't hear her voice any more. A big loss, indeed.

Woody certainly having been a respected and engaging forum mainstay, my sincere condolences to her family and friends.

Further going through many years old plant tags I came across this one:

I know exactly the story behind it...

Susan had a beautiful Cornus "Wolf's Eyes" in her back shade garden. I had seen it on a couple of occasions...its foliage lit up the area. And when she and Randy came to visit she suggested I plant a Dogwood in a shady area of our garden. I couldn't find "Wolf's Eyes" but had got this instead.

Susan had a beautiful Cornus "Wolf's Eyes" in her back shade garden

Here it is :

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4239492/wolf-eyes-dogwood-etc-for-rouge#n=5

RIP!

If nothing else, they renew my devotion to gardening, as the whole planting and nurturing process seems to reinvigorate me, give me perspective and tune me into the cycle of life.

I thought about your thoughtful words @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) yesterday.

Each year I save a few geraniums (bare root) and because I was bored I potted them up on Saturday. Each spring/late winter, I am in awe...I open the cardboard box and it is so obvious that they are alive i.e. lime green stems and even a few light green little leaves coming off a stem or two. It really is miraculous when you think about it i.e. they have been in total darkness for months on end with no water, no food and bare root and yet they easily survive to live another season in our garden. Incredible and mysterious I say is Nature.

Oh dear. Susan was such a wonderful part of this community, and her presence will be missed. Such lovely tributes as well - it’s a testament to everyone here. I don’t get on the forums as frequently as I once did, so I am only hearing this news now. I will raise a glass tonight in her honour.

It is so sad that we have lost such a kind-hearted, precious soul. All of the sentiments and tributes above speak to how special she was to all of us.

Susan was such an inspiration with her gardens, always sharing her projects and ideas and always staying so positive even during drought or no wisteria flowers.

She and I have had some great email conversations and I've been reading through them all since I heard this news. I am glad I kept so many of our conversations about gardening, dogs, family and life in general. I'm very sad that I was never able to make an actual visit to her garden happen. I would have loved to have met her in person to walk through her garden.

During my stroll down memory lane with our emails back and forth, I happened upon a chocolate truffle cake recipe Susan sent me. I think I shall have to make it this weekend to celebrate what an incredible person she was.

I happened upon a chocolate truffle cake recipe Susan sent me. I think I shall have to make it

@Thyme2dig NH Zone 5, *if* you ever get time to make the cake see if you can remember to take a picture and post it here :).

Omg I am so sorry to hear this. I didn't know she was going through such a battle with the disease. I was always excited to see her photos in the monthly blooms thread, especially her stunning wisterias. I still won't forget the wisteria lesson I learned from her that Japanese wisterias twine clockwise and american and chinese ones anti clockwise. I have a colony of wisterias along my driveway and thats how I was able to learn mine were Wisteria Floribunda and I fell in love with wisterias since. We will miss you and may you rest in peace.

as I had forgotten that she and Randy had gifted me a clump Corydalis ochroleuca (white flowers) several years back and I know exactly where it is in the garden

And just this week I came across Woody's gift, showing itself once again:

You must be glad to see that coming back up! I bet you think of Woody every time you see it. Wouldn't she be happy with that.

I haven‘t spent a lot of time on the forums recently, so I only just found this thread. I am sorry to hear this news. I learned a lot about garden design for Woodyoak, and really appreciated her knowledge of plants as well as the tone she set with her comments.

My condolences to her family.

Susan’s peony is blooming, bringing fresh memories of a good friend who passed away too soon.

Beautiful!

gdinie how lovely!!

You know, just today I was thinking of something. I had lunch with a friend and gave her some plants I had dug out of my garden. I was coming home and thinking how I had given some of the same plants to another friend, and how cool it was that parts of my garden were now in their gardens.

Then I thought about the old GW days and our wonderful CT swaps we had, and how nice it is that stroll in my garden past George's roses, and Debra's hellebores, and Marty's hydrangeas, and so on.

And I see the value of that reflected here, with so many of you having pieces of woody's garden in your own. It's a way of keeping these people with us, isn't it? Even more touching when they have left us. I think that's so wonderful.

:)

Dee

I was thinking about her too as i considered variegated (pagoda) dogwood for a spot. i thought about writing something here but didnt. Thank you, Barb, for giving me another chance to think about ”gardening with strangers who become friends.”