A visitor recently asked me about Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s conservation efforts. It made me stop and think. So many of those efforts are simply part of our everyday activities. For instance as I walk through the Garden, I am surrounded by thousands of them – 5,538, in fact! That’s the total number of “taxa” […]
Read MoreHave you ever wondered which plants are butterfly host plants? Since it is officially summer, I recently packed up the car for a camping trip with friends to Crabtree Falls to see if I could learn more. The first thing I noticed when we arrived in the George Washington National Forest area was that there were a spectacular number of butterflies, and all different […]
Read MoreSchool’s out for summer! Now what? It doesn’t take too long for the euphoria to fade to “I’m sooo bored,” especially with tweens. People may be familiar with some of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden‘s attractions for the younger set, such as the WaterPlay splash pad and the Sand Play sandbox, but that won’t cut it […]
Read MoreWhen I look back at how Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has changed over the years, I think about some of the physical changes: the new Lotus Bridge, the floating docks and the new gardens we have created thanks to generous donors (the Morton Native Plant Garden, and the Cherry Tree Walk, among others) I think about […]
Read MoreChef Anne Maury Haapala on work, motherhood and her upcoming honey cooking demo This week I met with Executive Chef, Anne Maury Haapala who has recently returned to her roll with Meriwether Godsey after the birth of her son Jacks. We discussed her little one, being a working mom and her upcoming cooking demo, the Lunchtime Lecture: […]
Read MoreRandy Minor has always had a connection to plants. His mother, Flordeen Cabiness, took him to the James River Park System often when he was a kid. They lived near Forest Hill Park and it was an easy walk through the park to the 42nd Street entrance. “This is where you can come to get clarity […]
Read MoreLandscape need a punch of color? Front entry desperate for a bit of cheer? Or perhaps your spring annuals are withering in the heat? Beth Burrell, garden designer and consultant, suggests a simple solution: DIY container plantings filled with summer annuals and perennials. Not only will they brim with color, texture and interest. They will […]
Read MoreWhere does the time go? Nine years ago, I started bringing my family to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Mother’s Day, several years before beginning work in Ginter’s education department. My best friend and I were new moms and we wanted to spend our first Mother’s Day in the Garden enjoying the concert with Glennroy […]
Read MoreMy mother was a gardener. She had blackberries and tomatoes in our backyard, and an herb garden near the back door that flavored her thoughtful and delicious meals. In her late 50s, my mom developed early onset Alzheimer’s. When she was ailing, but could still get into the car for occasional excursions, we liked to […]
Read MoreWhen you visit Butterflies LIVE!, we understand that you’re here to see the butterflies, to drink in their beauty, and to consider their nature. That’s as it should be. Often times the butterflies will pique your curiosity and questions will bubble to mind. If so, we hope that you will find one of the butterfly curators to ask. You might be asking yourself, […]
Read MoreAt first I felt a little out of place. I was a teenage student in a group of middle-aged women, some of whom were far beyond me in skill drawing flowers. The class, Introduction to Botanical Illustration, was the first I had ever taken at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. […]
Read MoreMaking a Difference with Urban Greening The last few months have been a whirlwind, as the Garden launched and wrapped up its first training cohort of Ginter Urban Gardeners. I think back to conversations in 2014, when wise friends pondered together “what would it take to create a more enabling environment for community urban greening […]
Read MoreMessage from the Executive Director Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, are native to the other side of the planet, with a genus named after an 18th-century Swedish merchant. Yet crape myrtles are so common in Richmond, occasionally they are thought to be native here. Botanical gardens are good at displaying and explaining global plant diversity, but […]
Read MoreI never thought I liked beer… Then again, the only beer I had ever tasted was a “light” version out of a can. But my feelings about beer changed when I vacationed with my husband in Austria and he suggested that I try something called a radler. I was a little leery, but when […]
Read More“I wish people would put as much emphasis on their trees as their lawns,” said Joel Koci, a certified arborist with the Urban Forestry Extension of Virginia State University. “Trees are much more ecologically advantageous.” According to Koci, man’s actions and lack of knowledge are two of the greatest threats to trees. “People pressure”—such as […]
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