Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Blog

Nov 28th, 2019

Ginter Urban Gardeners
Sustain Plants, People and Places

Ginter Urban Gardener cohorts do more than create green space in Richmond urban neighborhoods. They bring neighbors together to help restore people and communities. Environmental Justice When Ginter Urban Gardeners built a garden adjacent to Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in historic Jackson Ward, they planted over the foundations of a neighborhood decimated by the construction […]

Nov 19th, 2019

MESSAGE FROM LEWIS GINTER’S DIRECTOR

Planting Seeds for Change Richard Piacentini, the visionary CEO of Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, famously has written with regard to the challenges of environmental stress “Being Less Bad is Not Good Enough Anymore.” He has invited the entire public gardening community to join Phipps in approaching our common work with the tools of […]

Nov 18th, 2019

Insects Take the Heat

Humans aren’t the only ones who feel the heat. Global warming affects insects, too. Their responses vary by species and environs, including creative adaptions over time. “Insects and mites are ectotherms, which means they depend mostly on ambient temperatures to warm their bodies and power their processes of growth, development, reproduction and movement,” explained Dr. […]

Nov 9th, 2019

Wildlife Needs Habitat, Not Food

“Ideally, we shouldn’t feed wildlife at all,” said Carol Heiser, habitat education coordinator with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). Nature takes care of her own during winter, and we should let her. Birds, squirrels and deer are fascinating to watch up close as they feed. However, setting out seeds, fruit and […]

Nov 1st, 2019

Garden Receives Major Environmental Grant

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is honored to receive a Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE) grant in the amount of $315,000 to support the Glen Stream Restoration Project. The grant is part of VEE’s James River Water Quality Improvement Program and promotes environmental education. If you’ve visited Lewis Ginter, you’ve probably driven by the project area without […]

Oct 16th, 2019

Butterflies Fly to Tucson Botanical Gardens

It is a brisk October morning as I step out of my car and head for the Conservatory. I say “morning,” yet heavy shadows still blanket the garden, and I can even spot a few stars in the sky that are unwilling to give up the ghost. It is chilly, enough that you need a […]

Oct 14th, 2019

Yucca: A Nifty Native

Sea to shining sea: Yucca adapted across diverse climates and soils, from America’s arid deserts of the West to sandy dunes of the East … and nearly every Virginia county along the way. Locally, our native species is Yucca filamentosa, a slow-growing flowering evergreen. C the difference: America’s native plant requires two c’s in “yucca.” […]

Oct 2nd, 2019

Investigating Black Swallowtail Caterpillars’ Behavior

Recently we got a question from a visitor about his black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. After visiting M&T Bank Butterflies LIVE! with his grandson, he decided to grow some parsley in hopes of attracting more native butterflies to his garden. Fortunately, he witnessed a black swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the parsley plants and those larva […]

Sep 23rd, 2019

Native Plants of the James River: Native Art

Experience native wildflowers and plants in a new way by visiting the Lora M. Robins Library at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden during the month of October for a special show: Ancarrow’s List: Native Plants at the River’s Edge. Discover the color, form, beauty, and science of botanical art in this juried art exhibition featuring botanical […]

Sep 17th, 2019

Emily Herr Adds a Welcome Mural

The iconic view of the Conservatory and the Central Garden leading up to it immediately draw in visitors. However, hidden behind the Conservatory, an oft-overlooked treasure awaits. The Kroger Community Kitchen Garden and the Bob Stapleton and Keith Tignor Apiary are two of my favorite places to show visitors. Although the Kitchen Garden has been […]

Sep 12th, 2019

Nature’s Vitamin D Helps with Grief

Taryn Davis’ prescription for grief involves a different type of vitamin D: dirt from the garden. She discovered the healing power of nature a few years after the death of her young husband. “I was 21 years old when Michael passed from multiple roadside blasts in Iraq,” the military widow said. “I was a junior […]

Sep 6th, 2019

Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home with Doug Tallamy

Recently I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Doug Tallamy’s lecture, Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home. It was hosted by Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s education department and I was moved to see it was sold out, with 245 people signed up to attend. It is encouraging to see so many people are aware there are […]

Sep 2nd, 2019

Coming Together to Feed Our Community

When people think of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, they often think of interest rates and bank regulation, but at the core of our mission is service to our community. To support that effort, hundreds of our employees took part in a “Summer of Service” this year, providing hands-on community service during a season […]

Aug 29th, 2019

Eco-Friendly Virginia Green Certification

At Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden we are committed to doing what we can to help the environment and our Virginia Green program is just a start. After all, our mission is education and our passion is connecting people through plants to improve communities, so it’s a natural fit to do all we can for the […]

Aug 20th, 2019

Plants of the James River — Native Plant Illustrations

The month of October will feature a special exhibit of botanical art featuring illustrations of native wildflowers and plants. The Plants of the James River Project, a group of botanical artists working to educate the public about the beauty of native plants and threats to them, will present Ancarrow’s List: Native Plants by the River’s […]