Making a Difference in the Community

Nov 28th, 2019

Ginter Urban Gardeners
Sustain Plants, People and Places

Ginter 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 […]

Nov 19th, 2019

MESSAGE FROM LEWIS GINTER’S DIRECTOR

Planting 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 […]

Nov 9th, 2019

Wildlife Needs Habitat, Not Food

“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 […]

Nov 1st, 2019

Garden Receives Major Environmental Grant

Lewis 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 […]

Sep 12th, 2019

Nature’s Vitamin D Helps with Grief

Taryn 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 […]

Sep 6th, 2019

Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home with Doug Tallamy

Recently 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 […]

Sep 2nd, 2019

Coming Together to Feed Our Community

When 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 […]

Aug 29th, 2019

Eco-Friendly Virginia Green Certification

At 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 […]

Jul 9th, 2019

Bay-Friendly Gardening in Richmond Can Improve the Health of the Chesapeake Bay

Chemicals, 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 […]

Jun 14th, 2019

Feed More Receives A New Herb Garden

The 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 […]

Jun 5th, 2019

Special Events Are Going GREEN!

Weddings 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 […]

May 17th, 2019

GRTC Grows Greener

The 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 […]

Dec 28th, 2018

Sowing Seeds of Wellness

“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 […]

Dec 17th, 2018

A World Away: A Partnership with World Pediatric Project

Imagine: 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 […]

Dec 5th, 2018

Fran Purdum: A Legacy

When 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 […]

Nov 26th, 2018

Our Changed Climate

I 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 […]

Nov 9th, 2018

Community Plants Humanity

A 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 […]

Aug 10th, 2018

A Hands-on Learning Day in the Garden

The 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 […]

Aug 7th, 2018

Growing Food for Those in Need

People 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. […]

Jul 18th, 2018

Life-Changing Experiences for Youth

At 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 […]

Jul 5th, 2018

Grassroots Urban Gardener

Cucumbers. 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 […]

Jun 26th, 2018

Making Space

The 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. […]

Jun 18th, 2018

Job Skills Take Root

It’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 […]

May 28th, 2018

Therapeutic Horticulture

Most 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 […]

Apr 12th, 2018

Servant Leader
Randee Humphrey

The leadership team at Lewis Ginter is as varied as you think it might be, given all the diverse things the Garden does to connect people through plants for the benefit of RVA. I am privileged to serve alongside remarkable individuals who support and inspire our teams in thoughtful and passionate ways. One has shepherded […]