Awe & wonder at last year's GardenFest. Photo by Don Williamson Photography

I arrived at Lewis Ginter in early September, and even though  it was months away, it didn’t take long for me to hear about Dominion GardenFest of Lights, or GardenFest, as most folks call it around here.   For some, GardenFest  is the most anticipated event of the year.  GardenFest begins in just 7 days and I cannot wait to attend this year! GardenFest has been expanding in popularity and scale over the years. This year, not only will there be the usual favorites at GardenFest, there will be several new additions.

The theme for this year’s GardenFest is “Nature’s DeLIGHTS.” The illumination will be November 25 and is the perfect kick-off celebration for the holiday season, especially if you have family visiting for Thanksgiving.  Doors  open at 5 p.m. and the festivities start at 5:30 p.m.  Watch linemen from Dominion Power and the GardenKeeper “flip the switch” — the official start to GardenFest. This year on illumination night only, we have a special treat for you:  a laser lights show. The electric performance of enchanting visions, animation and music will captivate you.  After the laser show the Garden will be open for visitors to explore and enjoy.

The laser show isn’t the only new attraction at this year’s GardenFest. Another important addition to the display will be the illumination of Patrick Dougherty’s “Diamond’s in the Rough” stick sculpture. Since its addition in May, the sculpture has been a wonderful and whimsical addition to the Garden. During GardenFest, visitors will be able to approach the sculpture through a 250-foot tunnel of lights and see mystical characters who are calling the sculpture home during the holiday season.

Another new addition to this year’s GardenFest of Lights will be the oversized “LOVE” artwork provided by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and featured in the Rose Garden. The 8-foot tall and 16-feet wide letters spelling “LOVE” provide the perfect photo opportunity. Other notable features of the light display will include a dragon in the Asian Valley, “Spider Island”, oversized veggies in the Children’s Garden, and a larger-than life peacock with a walk-through tail arch. During GardenFest you may also enjoy  s’mores around the firepit , holiday train displays, family photos at the  grand holiday tree in the Conservatory, and two light mazes.

There is something special and unique happening at GardenFest almost every night.

Last year's GardenFest featured Hans Godo Frabel's glasswork. Photo by Don Williamson Photography

Monday’s during GardenFest will be “very merry”, featuring fireside story time with the GardenKeeper and visits from the Butterfly Fairy in the Library Reading Room. There are also chances for Santa “sightings” in the Conservatory. Tuesdays are “Caroling Tuesdays” with Barbershop quartets meandering through the Garden to serenade you. The music continues on “Musical Thursday’s,” when there will be acoustic musicians performing festive entertainment in the Library.

There will also be “Member Nights” when all Garden members are granted free admission to the Garden. As another special treat for members on Member Nights, the historic Bloemendaal House will be open for touring.

This year we’ll feature 3 full nights of “GardenFest for Fidos.” On select Thursdays leashed pets will be allowed to enjoy the festivities with a suggested $2 pet admission to benefit Richmond SPCA.

After learning about all of the exciting events at Lewis Ginter during GardenFest, I am having a hard time deciding when to come. I do not want to miss next week’s opening night laser lights show. I would also love to bring my dog (a Westie named Maggie) to see the Garden and I definitely want to bring my family to see the Garden. Of course, I would like to tour the illuminated and historic Bloemendaal House during a member night. But really, there is no wrong time to visit GardenFest. You may even see me walking around the Garden taking photos, trying to find my way out of a maze, or walking my dog Maggie. I hope to see you there.

Here’s a video that from last year’s GardenFest to get you in the mood:

Every Wednesday morning, I see volunteers carrying trays of freshly-cut flowers and other plant material into the GardenFest of Lights decoration workshop—signaling the first stage of the imaginative, hand-made holiday decorations that delight annual GardenFest visitors starting the weekend after Thanksgiving.

In most inside spaces, ornaments made from dried plant materials decorate trees, form table decorations, and drape fireplaces and chandeliers. Their creation is a year-round effort from planning which seeds to buy, to planting and caring for the plants, to harvesting and drying. And, much of the work happens when you’d expect it least — in the heat of summer — July & August.  Walking into the workshop, I’m like a kid again, waiting to see what our creative horticulture staff and volunteers will come up with this year!

A hydrangea being immersed in silica

There’s years of experience on tap for this project, from best plants for drying — and the best technique for each one.  Apparently, we had a disaster this year when an experimental method for keeping lotus leaves flat while drying resulted in a mildewed mess—oh well, sometimes you have to go with the flow, and start fresh. We’ll be working with the second crop of lotus leaves, and around their ‘personalities’. Plants are harvested all summer and carried to the basement workshop in the Education & Library Complex where GardenFest magic is crafted.  Some plants are dried in silica gel, which works great, preserves the shape of the plant part and a good bit of the color, and can be reused a number of times.  Even peonies get the spa treatment!  In addition to the gel, some plants are air dried, some are pressed.  In October, more fun starts as the staff puts their design ideas into action.  The result: remarkable, unique ornaments and decorations.

If this sort of craftiness seems right up your alley, then you will want to join us on  July 17th as garden horticulturists Laura Sullian and Shannon Smith share their accumulated knowledge about creating the best dried botanical decorations ever! This brand new class starts with planning which plants to grow, harvesting techniques, and best preserving methods, so you can survey your own yard and garden and start working on your own decorations.  Plus, you’ll get a tour of the workshop where plant magic happens, and go home with a small starter project.  A perfect way to celebrate Christmas in July!

Selecting and Drying Flowers and Plants for Botanical Decorations, Saturday, July 17, 9 – 11 am

The remarkable botanical decorations featured each December and January at GardenFest of Lights are made from plants mostly grown and preserved here. Garden Horticulturists Laura Henley and Shannon Smith discuss drying techniques and best choices of materials for these spectacular botanical ornaments. Some time is spent in the Garden and some in the workshop where materials are assembled and decorations are planned. Come away with a small starter project for your own garden jewels!

$40 / $30 members

1 session = 2 hrs. GES: HL, 2, elective

GardenFest is going full throttle right now — we’ve added a bonus Member Night tonight (members get in for free) and tomorrow you’ll have the unusual opportunity of getting to see the GardenFest of Lights from a hot air balloon! Yes, believe it or not, the first 100 people who purchase raffle tickets ($10) for our 25th Anniversary silver Subaru from Subaru of Richmond get to ride up and see the lights from the sky!

People are Tweeting about GardenFest (see the widget below), blogging about GardenFest and taking some amazing photos of GardenFest. Plus if you haven’t been to the Garden in a while, it’s a great chance  see our brand new “ribbon of light” Lotus Bridge all lit up for the holidays.  Also new this year is  a giant purple coneflower in the Central Garden.

Here’s a round up of what a few people are saying:

“It’s Richmond at its best,” says one visitor in the Richmond Times Dispatch GardenFest of Lights article. “We’ve been coming since they were babies.”

Richmond.com has a wonderful slideshow.

John Sarvay is best known for his Buttermilk & Molasses blog, but wrote a nice piece about visiting GardenFest with his wife Nikole and toddler Thea, on his blog, Garden of Words:

By the time she was in the stroller and could see the glow of blue lights on the bushes outside the main building, Thea was clapping her hands, flailing her feet, straining forward and yelling, “Lights, yay! Yay! Yay!”

Matt Harrington, of  RichmondInsideOut.com wrote about his sneak peek of GardenFest.

RVA TV (part of RVA Magazine) created a wonderful YouTube video with the RVA Hoop Lovers during GardenFest Illumination

In fact, there are so many people talking about GardenFest, it’s hard to keep up with it all.  We’ve started bookmarking some of our favorite coverage on the Garden and on GardenFest so, if you are looking for the latest scoop, check out our bookmarks on Delicious.