Each year, Henrico County Public Schools elementary students present a gift to the community. They offer their creativity through holiday decorations adorning trees at Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. These special trees line the hallway inside the Kelly Education Center. Look closely between the branches and you’ll see holiday decorations […]
Read MoreVolunteers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden are the heart and soul of everything we do. Simply put, there would be no Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights without them. Each year our volunteers spend countless hours preparing for the show, wrapping lights, building structures, and brainstorming ideas about how they can make this year’s show even […]
Read MoreWinter is in full swing, and nature’s response is a fascinating study for children on school break. Nature knowledge supports Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) objectives. Outdoor exploration of winter wildscapes also fosters youngsters’ appreciation for the natural world, which can last a lifetime. To help your child or grandchild understand nature’s seasonal changes, talk […]
Read MoreGinter 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 […]
Read MorePlanting 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 […]
Read MoreHumans 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. […]
Read More“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 […]
Read MoreLewis 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 […]
Read MoreIt 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 […]
Read MoreSea 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.” […]
Read MoreRecently 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 […]
Read MoreExperience 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 […]
Read MoreThe 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 […]
Read MoreTaryn 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 […]
Read MoreRecently 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 […]
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