The 3,000+ varieties Camellia sinensis plant produce the second most consumed beverage on earth — tea, second only to water. More specifically, tea is the number one most consumed hot beverage in the world. I’ve been drinking green tea for as long as I can remember. I was eager to gain more information on tea, […]
Read MoreIt’s a new normal. During these unusual times, 75 people can no longer gather for an in-person cooking demonstration followed by a delicious buffet dinner. Instead, culinary classes have moved to a virtual format, just like schools, meetings, tours and just about everything else during this pandemic. We’re excited we can offer online cooking classes […]
Read MoreIt’s no secret gardening has skyrocketed in popularity since COVID-19. In the spring, some seed companies had to temporarily stop taking orders after an overwhelming surge in demand. Although that has since alleviated, now there’s a shortage of canning supplies! If you missed out on the growing season this spring and summer, never fear, it’s […]
Read MoreEven though we can’t see the smiling faces of school children and teachers on field trips at this time, we want to find ways to continue to connect. To help students continue to explore the natural world, we decided to create a series of virtual field trip programs. A few weeks ago, we released our […]
Read MoreSeeing big, yellow school busses, full of excited students and teachers, roll into the Garden is a sight that we have missed. Typically, hundreds of classes a year visit us for field trips. Students learn about the wonders of how plants grow, the many benefits of trees, and the importance of keeping our waterways healthy. […]
Read MoreAre trees just pretty or do they do something more? Does one tree matter? If one tree can make a difference in our environment, what can many trees do? Most everyone has access to some type of tree whether it is a magnificent oak sprawling in your backyard, an ancient tulip poplar in a public […]
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 MoreIf you’ve ever dabbled in herb gardening, chances are you’ve seen little green worms munching away on your parsley, dill, or fennel. If that’s the case, then you’ve been visited by the larva of Eastern Black Swallowtails! These caterpillars may be found eating anything in the carrot family—including the herbs already mentioned, but also carrots […]
Read More“Connor, come sit down with me!” A simple sentence perhaps, but for Jennifer Simmons, the words seemed miraculous. Three-year-old Parker had speech delays. He rarely spoke in complete sentences, and for months had been trying to say his brother’s name. Now he’d finally gotten it right. It was opening day of M&T Bank Butterflies LIVE! […]
Read MoreAs winter lingers, boredom builds. Journaling offers a creative outlet. It invites you to pause and ponder about your world. Through reflection, journaling also enlightens you about your life journey and yourself. There are countless journaling formats, but three basic approaches: text only, drawings only or a combination. No method is wrong. It is right if […]
Read MoreMiniatures & Dollhouses The dollhouses have arrived! Now’s the time to visit the Lora Robins Library at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden during Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights. Currently on display are 45 dollhouses and dioramas on loan from local private collections. These miniatures include a diner, a 6-foot long Victorian house, a bakery (pictured above), a houseboat, […]
Read MoreA hungry mosquito lurks nearby, evidenced by a high-pitched whining sound. If a female, her target is protein from blood, after which she develops eggs numbering up to 250,000 per season. Her pesky bites cause incessant itching, but a greater concern is whether she carries a mosquito-borne disease, such as Zika or West Nile virus. […]
Read MoreThe wonder and beauty of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden never cease to amaze me each time I visit. But sometimes, I need to remind myself to slow down and take in the smaller details around me. Rushing along the Lotus Bridge or the Main Garden Walk means I’ll miss creatures in the water and new […]
Read MoreCapturing nature in the camera lens takes practice plus knowledge. 5 Photography Tips: Become well acquainted with your camera. Read the manual thoroughly with the camera in hand, and practice features as you learn about them. Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop and figure out how your camera works, especially at a decisive […]
Read MoreLewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s collection of 4,000 herbarium specimens is now registered in the Index Herbariorum, a major international registry of herbarium plant collections. This means that our collection is now among over 3,000 registered herbaria around the world, where over 350 million plant records are cataloged, available for research and a crucial record of […]
Read MoreRecently I met with Executive Chef Anne Maury Haapala who shared her vision for the upcoming cooking demonstration Lightened Up Favorites with Chef Anne which will take place on July 25, 2018. This 90-minute demo is followed by a delectable lunch featuring some of the recipes discussed. MSC: What is your vision or approach to […]
Read MoreBackyard birds often wander widely around our neighborhoods during summer, so it can seem that birdlife has diminished. Consider these tips to increase avian traffic in your backyard. Water: Backyard birds need a source of water, especially during our hot, humid summers. Provide a birdbath and refill it often. A water drip in the birdbath […]
Read MoreTired of bland and boring cocktails? Harvest some herbs for herb-infused cocktails! “Fresh herbs take mixology to a whole new level,” said Ashley Greene, catering manager with Meriwether Godsey, the in-house caterer for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The pungency of herbs infuses unexpected flavors and pleasant aromas. “Mixing craft cocktails involves science and the art […]
Read MoreAlthough they’ve only known each other for two days, 16-year-olds Honoka Sato and Olivia Appelrouth have become fast friends. Sato, a Japanese exchange student from Municipal Urawa High School (Saitama, Japan) and Appelrouth, her host student, and a sophomore at Clover Hill High School, say they have learned much from each other already. Appelrouth explains […]
Read MoreDuring this year’s Winter Symposium and CVNLA short course, we dug deeper into what it means to garden with purpose and passion through perennial gardens. Perennials offer a different gardening experience than annuals because they come back year after year and require less maintenance. The New Perennial Movement focuses on establishing a link with nature through […]
Read MoreQ & A with Botanical Illustrator Lara Call Gastinger Lara Call Gastinger is a botanical artist and illustrator from Charlottesville, VA. Gastinger is the lead illustrator for the Flora of Virginia project. She has over 50,000 followers on Instagram where she posts samples from her own nature journal. Gastinger’s art focuses on the minute details […]
Read MoreMaking a Difference One Garden at Time The day I decided to browse the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden website beyond the home page felt very serendipitous. Inspired by the recent Garden Times newsletter that arrived in my mailbox, I decided to reacquaint myself with the Garden. As I browsed, I stumbled across information on the Urban […]
Read MoreThe Botanical Book club at Lewis Ginter decided it needed a new name, a broader descriptor of our eclectic reading tastes. We are now the Nature Study Reading Society. Looking back at the titles we’ve read since 2001 (PDF), it’s obvious we have wide-ranging tastes covering plants and gardening, botany, birds, hiking, observational powers, history, […]
Read MoreDavid Palma-Carias is like many teenagers. At 19, he loves to listen to music, has a wicked sense of humor, and he’s using his time out of school during the summer to build a foundation for his future. David is thinking about career plans and dreaming big (he wants to be a radio personality). When […]
Read MoreFor the past three summers, Lia Bazemore has worked as an intern in the Children’s Garden at Lewis Ginter through a partnership with Partnership for the Future. Bazemore is a recent graduate Henrico High School in the International Baccalaureate Program. In the fall, she will be a freshman at James Madison University. This summer has been very bittersweet. This is the where everything changes […]
Read More