by Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, reprinted with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch Photos by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator The moniker “Magnolia Man” suits Bill Smith just fine. After all, he has devoted the last 15 years to creating, evaluating and distributing new and improved magnolia species for Virginia gardens. The […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Photos by Garden Volunteer Jeannie Waltman & Jonah Holland A crew of Garden volunteers and staff from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation planted and installed a ‘floating wetland’ right here in Lake Sydnor at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden this week. The floating garden is believed to […]
Read MorePhotos & text by Jay Austin, Rose Garden Horticulturist, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Rose season is officially upon us! This is one of the first blooms to open this year, Rosa ‘Livin’ Easy’. Over the course of the next week, there will be tens of thousands of additional blooms of all shapes, sizes, and fragrances […]
Read MoreBy Frank Robinson, President & CEO, & Lynn Kirk, PR Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, reprinted with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch Accept it, gardeners — change is the norm for gardens and landscapes. Nature alters growing conditions through ever-changing weather and seasons, as does the interaction of plants, insects and wildlife. Man creates modifications each time he […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden When I met with Ellen Shepard, the woman behind the intricate gardens and orchard at Linwood Holton Elementary School, I never expected to end up talking about zombies, But that’s exactly how it happened. Zombie plants that is. I’d never heard of them, but you […]
Read MoreText & photos by Brian Vick, Community Kitchen Garden Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Karen Reynolds brought her Dominion PJM Energy Settlements team to the Lewis Ginter Community Kitchen Garden earlier this week for a surprisingly sweltering afternoon of gardening. The team transplanted parsley and lettuce, seeded beets and turnips, and also accomplished some ditch digging […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s most historic garden is getting a “summer house” and new arbors. The formal beds in front of Bloemendaal House were originally planted by Grace Arents (Lewis Ginter’s niece, and the founder of our Garden) in 1914. In fact, we call it […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Wondering what we’ve been up to lately in the Community Kitchen Garden? POTATOES! Community Kitchen Garden Coordinator Brian Vick, made a 2-minute movie featuring the potato planting. Thanks to volunteers Jeff Curtis, John Jamieson & Gary Pantaleo for helping to grow food for Richmond’s neediest […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Even after watching Tyler Rhodes award-winning evolution animated video featuring the drawings and voices of local school children from William Fox Elementary and Patrick Henry School or Arts & Science, I still couldn’t really wrap my mind around exactly WHAT Tyler Rhodes was doing in […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Today, Shannon Smith, Senior Horticulturist, met with staff and volunteers during a “15 Minutes in the Garden” session where we learned about a new section of plants for this very special garden — the George Bragdon Daffodil Garden. The Bragdon memorial garden will show a spectacular […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Today we got to celebrate the first day of spring in the best way ever. We kicked off the 2013 growing season for the Community Kitchen Garden by planting red potatoes, peas and radishes with preschoolers from Capital Childcare. But do you want to know what’s […]
Read Moreby Grace Chapman, Director of Horticulture, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Did you know that botanical gardens are actually museums? The big difference is that instead of having collections of artwork or historical objects, we have living collections. All of our plants are documented, numbered, and tracked, just like other museum collections. The Garden combines various types […]
Read MoreWhen these fuzzy puppies pop it really is the beginning of a roller coaster ride into spring. These Magnolia × soulangeana blooms are also called saucer magnolias or tulip magnolias. Stay tuned for photos of them in full bloom later this week.
Read Moreby Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, reprinted with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch If you think winter’s garden can’t sprout flowers, think again. In our Zone 7, several cold-hardy ornamentals perk up cold-weather landscapes with bursts of floral color. Winter jasmine and witch hazel are two striking examples, but perhaps the south’s most well-known, […]
Read MoreText and photos by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden The daffodils are starting to bloom all over the Garden. For me one of my favorite things is to find a new type of daffodil every time I turn around. According to the American Daffodil Society there are between 40 and 200 different […]
Read MoreText & photos by Brian Vick, Community Kitchen Garden Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Most of the planning is nearing completion for the 2013 Community Kitchen Garden at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Beginning its 5th year, the Community Kitchen Garden is dedicated to growing fresh produce for FeedMore’s Meals on Wheels and after-school feeding programs. You’ll see we’ve reduced the volume […]
Read MorePhoto & text by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden I came across this beauty yesterday. I like to call it sunshine on a stick, because it is so fun, but technically, it’s called Witch Hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’. It has lovely yellow fringed flowers, and a spicy scent. You can find it in […]
Read Moreby Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, reprinted with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch Savvy garden designers seeking drama and intrigue recognize the power of black. There’s a world of black beauties – more than 4,000 plants sporting dark-hued foliage, flowers or fruit – that can innovatively transform any garden from ordinary to extraordinary. Though […]
Read Moreby Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden When most people think of orchids, they don’t think of something that’s kid-friendly. We’re about to change that! We want to let Richmond Families know, it’s not just the Children’s Garden that is kid -friendly at Lewis Ginter. We’ve put a whole family-focus on Orchids Galore!, […]
Read Moreby Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden “It’s not about more pretty flowers. It’s about quality of life, tourism, economy, prosperity.” That’s how Frank Robinson, president and CEO of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, introduced his collaboration with Lynden Miller at a recent seminar hosted by the Garden. Miller, who is an internationally renowned […]
Read Moreby Elizabeth Fogel, Senior Horticulturist & Seth Roadman, Horticulturist, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden first opened to the public in 1987, fulfilling the will of Grace E. Arents to establish a botanical garden named after her uncle, Lewis Ginter. At this time, little of the Garden’s 81 acres were under cultivation, but […]
Read Moreby Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Winter weather may be drab, but the landscape doesn’t have to be. Cone-bearing trees and shrubs, known as conifers, can transform outdoor settings from ordinary to extraordinary through their attractive array of sizes, shapes and textures. They also can add drama through their wide spectrum of […]
Read MoreBy Grace Chapman, director of horticulture & Lynn Kirk, public relations writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Which is it: Oregon grape, Oregon holly-grape, Oregon grape-holly or Oregon grape? Take your pick, since all these references are acceptable, with or without the dash. But don’t let the names fool you, since the Oregon grape is not […]
Read Moreby Janet Woody, Librarian, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Recently we had a request for information about growing vegetables and flowers in a raised planter. Since I am not sure if this question pertains to a planting box with sides that sits right on the ground, or a raised planter box with its own, possibly slatted, […]
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