Volunteers 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 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 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 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 […]
Read MoreWhen people think of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, they often think of interest rates and bank regulation, but at the core of our mission is service to our community. To support that effort, hundreds of our employees took part in a “Summer of Service” this year, providing hands-on community service during a season […]
Read MoreAt Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden we are committed to doing what we can to help the environment and our Virginia Green program is just a start. After all, our mission is education and our passion is connecting people through plants to improve communities, so it’s a natural fit to do all we can for the […]
Read MoreChemicals, excess nutrients and sediment are the Chesapeake Bay’s biggest pollutants. You may not live near the Chesapeake Bay, but what you do directly affects it – as does what you do or don’t plant. Efforts to protect and restore the Bay are not new, but some planting practices are. “We have this idea in […]
Read MoreThe Garden is full of beautiful landscapes, blossoming flowers, art installations and small wildlife. It is beautiful year round and always offers something new to engage with. However, one of the most amazing areas of the Garden is the Kroger Community Kitchen Garden. This time of the year it’s bustling with visitors, horticulturists, volunteers and school […]
Read MoreWeddings aren’t always white. Sometimes they’re green. Rehearsal dinners, baby showers and other celebrations are trending green, too. Going green has little to do with color. It’s the concept of planning events that are special, yet environmentally sustainable. “More venues are offering eco-friendly options,” said Lindsay Condelli, assistant facility events coordinator at Lewis Ginter Botanical […]
Read MoreThe passenger platforms for PULSE, the GRTC bus rapid transit system, have been touted for their innovative architecture. Their landscape designs merit kudos, too. The largest planting is little more than 6 to 10 feet wide. However, the 26 stations are situated along a high-profile corridor between Willow Lawn and Rocketts Landing. Creating each station’s […]
Read More“Addiction is not a choice,” said Carolyn Seaman, director of development for the Richmond Behavioral Health Foundation (RBHF). “It is a powerful disease.” Seaman, who has 12 years of related experience, said no one chooses to compromise their health or lose their livelihood and home due to substance abuse. Nor do they choose to alienate […]
Read MoreImagine: You are very sick….a young child in a new country, without your parents. You may or may not speak the language. You are hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from home. You have left everything you know behind. You have come here for one reason: to get well. It is a leap of faith. Only […]
Read MoreWhen I came across this sweet garden during a parent-teacher conference at JR Tucker High School I felt warm energy fill my heart as I realized that this grassy area is dedicated to my friend Fran Purdum, who served as Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s volunteer archivist starting in 1984 when she retired as a science teacher […]
Read MoreI remember three things vividly from high school chemistry in Bozeman, Mont.: a terrible walk in December 1972 from home to school for a 6:30 a.m. lab with the temperature at 20 below zero; organic chemicals smelling as bad as promised; and the teacher, a veteran with a crew cut, promising the world we students […]
Read MoreA vacant lot on St. Peter Street blighted the Gilpin Court neighborhood for decades. Overgrown grass invited debris. The location supported crime. Most residents paid little attention to the lot until Lillie A. Estes recognized its potential as an urban orchard and garden. “When Mayor Dwight Jones came into office, I heard about his community […]
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 MorePeople right here in Central Virginia struggle with hunger every day. The populations most likely to be affected by hunger, children and the elderly, may have trouble not only getting enough food but getting the right kind of food — fresh locally grown vegetables and fruits. The Kroger Community Kitchen Garden is working to change that. […]
Read MoreAt age 15, Kendra Norrell interned in the Children’s Garden. She recalls “dealing with dirt, plants, and bugs,” than advancing to cataloging plants. As the first high school participant in the Partnership for the Future collaboration (2005), Kendra didn’t expect her internship to repeat two more summers — and she certainly didn’t expect it to […]
Read MoreCucumbers. Tomatoes. Strawberries and collards. Big plans are underway to infuse the community garden at Peter Paul Development Center (PPDC) in Church Hill. Lakeshia Allen, a former engagement coordinator at PPDC and a Ginter Urban Gardener graduate says, “I wanted residents who live here to buy into this garden by creating the list of what […]
Read MoreThe young man in duck trousers and a company shirt had just finished off-loading the last of four ball-and-burlap pin oaks. As he busied himself latching up the tailgate of his truck, he chided me, “Remember, don’t put a dollar tree in a nickel hole.” I have heard this admonition many times over the years. […]
Read MoreIt’s 8:15 a.m. Like many 18-year-olds, Tristin Compton would love to spend his morning listening to music or watching videos on his iPad. Yet he also yearns for independence and a meaningful job. So, reminded of these goals, he boards a van that transports him to Lewis Ginter. On arrival, he clocks in and pins […]
Read MoreMost of us can attest to the positive effects that nature in general and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, in particular, has on our minds, bodies, and souls. The Therapeutic Horticulture program that Lewis Ginter hopes to launch would unearth this healing effect on populations that lack routine access to the Garden or any safe space […]
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