Witch hazel always rings a mystical note. Blooming in the middle of the winter, those delicate bits of yellow, copper, or red ribbon blow outward from bare branches like sparks of fire, as if an invisible sorceress were working her spells and enlivening the winter slumber. Seasoned gardeners understand the quiet delight of walking outside […]
Read MoreIn case you missed it, here’s a recap of our Facebook Live post with Director of Horticulture Grace Elton and Conservatory Horticulturist Chelsea Mahaffey. In this video, we take you on a brief virtual tour of the Conservatory, then show how we use beneficial insects to control other bug problems in our botanical displays. Did you know that […]
Read MoreGardening basics seldom change — like “right plant, right place”— but preferences can be downright trendy. So before tilling dirt this spring, check out what’s hot and what’s not for 2017. Grow 365. Gardening used to be limited to a few seasons, but not anymore. Today with enhanced technology, gardeners can grow 365 days of […]
Read MoreThe first class of Beautiful RVA‘s Ginter Urban Gardeners gathers twice a week, for 12 weeks, to do the very important work of making a difference: learning new things, building relationships, getting their hands dirty and transforming themselves into a new crop of urban gardeners dedicated to building up the Richmond community. This very special group of […]
Read MoreAnnouncing the Winning GardenFest Photos! Congratulations to this year’s GardenFest Instagram contest finalists! We loved pouring through the hundreds (….and hundreds) of entries you submitted and truly enjoyed reliving Dominion GardenFest of Lights through your photos. GardenFest visitors really know how to make some memories — just look at those smiling faces! It looks like quite a few lovebirds got engaged at GardenFest […]
Read MoreRyan Syrell Artist Bio Ryan Syrell is a painter whose work focuses on the interrelationship between haptics, perception, and the recollection of sensory information. He received his BFA from SUNY Purchase College in 2006, and has exhibited and performed internationally. Ryan’s work has recently been included in Baltimore Contemporary Cross-Section (Silvermine Arts Center, Connecticut) and […]
Read MoreUpdated 1/17/17 Awash in the Health Benefits of Nature My mother was right. She may not have known why, but she was right. When she sent me outside to play with my brothers and get some fresh air and sunshine, she wasn’t just brokering a bit of peace and quiet for herself. It was good […]
Read MoreOn this day in 1895 On January 2, 1895, the Richmond Dispatch reported that Richmond citizens enjoyed ice skating on the first day of 1895 and were fortunate to have three locations for skating: Forest Hill lake, the city reservoir, and right here in Lakeside at Clarke’s Pond. The pond is now known as Lakeside […]
Read MoreA Garden’s Role in Racial Healing & Transformation As Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s community engagement coordinator, I was honored to attend the W.K. Kellogg Foundation‘s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Summit in Carlsbad, Calif. earlier this month on behalf of Initiatives of Change/Hope in the Cities. As a participant, I learned how uniquely positioned Lewis […]
Read MoreMaking Spirits Bright with Light Toys from the Bling Shop As Dominion GardenFest of Lights casts its spell over the Garden each year, you may discover that even you are bedazzled by its magic. If that happens, and you find that you are longing for a little sparkle of your own, we’ve got just the […]
Read MoreSpinning Wheel Demonstration Spinning is an ancient craft dating back thousands of years that can be quite delightful to watch. If you want to add an unconventional — yet no less fun and mesmerizing — activity to your holiday schedule, join us for a spinning demonstration in the Lora Robins Library as part of the Natural Plant Dyes […]
Read More“Look to the wild,” suggested Thomas Rainer, co-author of “Planting in a Post-Wild World.”” His advice is intended for anyone who influences a patch of land, whether a sprawling backyard in suburbia or a micro garden squeezed between row houses downtown. Self-described as “a landscape architect by profession and a gardener by obsession,” Rainer challenges […]
Read MoreMonarch Butterfly Adoptions For about three years now, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s volunteer-led spring and fall plant sales have actively encouraged home gardeners to grow plants that support native butterflies and local pollinator populations. Each year, we feature butterfly habitat kits, each containing host plants (plants that caterpillars need for food) and nectar plants (plants that butterflies need […]
Read MoreEditor’s note: This is a timely post on an important topic. We are reprinting it with permission from the authors, noted below. Mind Your Holiday Decorations: Safeguarding Your Boxwoods from Boxwood Blight Guest blog post by Chuan Hong, Ping Kong and Xiao Yang, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center Mike Likins, Adria Bordas, Kate […]
Read MoreUpdated 12/14/16 Ask Justin Brown when he and his team began work on this year’s light show and he replies, “We never stopped.” Brown is Operations Manager and External Team Leader for Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights, responsible for setting out the lights that help turn Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden into a wonderland of Living Color for this year’s show. The […]
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