Gardens Through the Seasons

Jan 16th, 2014

Winter Wonderland at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Photos by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, & Beth Monroe, Director of PR & Marketing, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Dec 6th, 2013

We Want to See #GardenFest Through Your Eyes

What do Dominion GardenFest of Lights, social media, and your mobile device have in common? Put them all together for chance to win a prize package valued at over $850. One of our favorite parts of GardenFest is seeing it though your eyes. Show us your family traditions, your favorite vistas, your dog enjoying the lights […]

Nov 15th, 2013

Ice is Nice

Text & photos by Brian Vick, Community Kitchen Garden Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden … except maybe if you’re a citrus grower, and if you don’t have to walk or drive on it. It may seem extremely early to see this much ice in Richmond, Virginia, during November, but it’s all just a minor mishap. A […]

Nov 13th, 2013

Top 5 Tips for Holiday Tree-Trimming

By Beth Monroe, Public Relations and Marketing Director, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden I feel Scrooge-like admitting it, but decorating a tree is not my favorite thing to do. There, I’ve said it. I love the holidays, but the thought of unwrapping all those ornaments and perfectly placing them on a tree is kind of overwhelming. […]

Nov 9th, 2013

We're Saving a Seat for You

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Photos by Garden Member Cathy Hoyt

Nov 7th, 2013

The Beauty of Seasons Changing

By Jasmine Kent, PR & Marketing Intern, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden When I applied for the PR & Marketing internship at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in early September, the weather was still peaking at 90 degrees many days. I thought, “Hey, this may be cool. I’ll be outside in the sun all day, enjoying the […]

Oct 21st, 2013

Here's to Welcoming Autumn

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Photographer Michelle Burdiss, has an eye for catching magic moments here at the Garden. Perhaps is because she’s been coming her for years, or perhaps it’s because she always carries her camera with her, wherever she goes in the Garden. As we welcome autumn and the […]

Oct 12th, 2013

Fall Gardening Tips: Raking, Mulching & Planting While Going Easy on Your Body

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden We have a wealth of knowledge at the Garden! And boy do we like to share it. Our mission, after all is education. One way that we share our knowledge is by teaching staff and Garden volunteers about interesting Garden-related topics in a series called “15 […]

Sep 15th, 2013

For Gardeners, Timing is Key & Fall is a Great Time to Plant

by Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden The horticulture industry’s “right plant, right place” slogan is a sound guideline, but what about “right time?” Every spring, a nation of gardeners rushes outside en mass with tools prepped, nursery stock purchased and spirits high. Their annual post-frost rituals begin — tilling, planting and transplanting […]

Aug 31st, 2013

5 Easy Tips for an End-of-Summer Garden Makeover

by Beth Monroe, Public Relations & Marketing Director, and Grace Chapman, Horticulture Director, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Summer’s end can be a challenging time for gardens. Some plants may not have fared so well, yet in our mid-Atlantic region, we still have a couple more months of the growing season. What’s a gardener to do? […]

Jul 12th, 2013

Garden Summer Camp: Greatest Hits

by Kristin Mullen, Children’s Garden Educator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Summer camp! Don’t those words just make you smile? Rest assured, the 4- and 5-year-olds in the Growing Minds and Wow Your Senses camps are smiling, too! And while it’s obvious they are having fun, the casual observer might not realize that they are also learning – learning […]

Jun 14th, 2013

Heavenly Hydrangeas: Highlights of the Summer Garden

by Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, photos by Janet Woody, Librarian, & Rich Waiton, volunteer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, reprinted with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginians love hydrangeas, in part because hydrangeas love Virginia. Several species of this woody ornamental thrive in our zone 7, adorning the summer landscape with voluptuous flowers and breathtaking beauty. […]

May 25th, 2013

Nesting Bluebirds

You may have read my last post about the Lewis Ginter Bluebird Trail where I mentioned that we had 7 out of 14 nest boxes occupied by chickadees and only one box with hopeful signs of bluebird activity. In the last month there has been quite a lot of nesting activity on the trail, including […]

Mar 11th, 2013

Camellias, the "Winter Rose," Offer Color & Charm

by 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, […]

Feb 16th, 2013

Take a Hike This Winter

by Lynn Kirk, Public Relations Writer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Nature isn’t limited to three seasons – and neither are nature walks. Winter is a delightful time to explore the great outdoors as a family or with a group of youngsters. A winter hike reveals nature’s cold-weather mysteries and seasonal trends. Leafless trees bare their trunks […]

Feb 14th, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jan 15th, 2013

The Power of Kawaii

Photos & text by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden I just read an article from one of my favorite blogs — Nonprofit Tech 2.0: A Social Media Guide for non-profits. The blog post, titled 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit Social Media Managers, had some great tips, most surprising of which […]

Dec 20th, 2012

The Sisterhood of Travel and Plants

Photos and text by Beth Monroe, PR & Marketing Director, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden When you work at a botanical garden, there aren’t many people exactly like you around. Usually there’s only one botanical garden in a geographic area, so colleagues tend to be far flung. If you’re lucky, you can still find like-minded organizations […]

Dec 9th, 2012

A Pickle on Each Christmas Tree

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Does your family hide a pickle on your Christmas Tree? You don’t? Maybe it’s time to start a new tradition! The person who finds it gets an extra present or a year of good fortune. What a fun way to start out Christmas morning! […]

Dec 7th, 2012

Asian-inspired Ornaments: Zodiac, Koi & Origami

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden In my family we have a tradition: each year my children pick out ornaments for their grandmothers in the Garden Shop at Lewis Ginter. (Spoiler alert — for any of my kid’s grandmothers who are reading along — you may want to avert your eyes now!) This year, […]

Sep 12th, 2012

Let the Harvest Season Begin!

by Kristen Wolenberg, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Public Relations & Marketing Intern Even though the first official day of fall is not until September 22nd, the start of classes and the weather (finally) cooling off reminds me that it’s right around the corner. The library at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has recently added Michelle Obama’s first […]

Jun 29th, 2012

Escape Into the Tropics this Summer at Butterflies LIVE!

by Kristen Wolenberg, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Public Relations & Marketing Intern As soon as I walked into the Conservatory’s North Wing I felt like I was in a tropical oasis. There are lots of green plants at every height that add to the beauty and make you feel like you have just walked into a […]

Mar 5th, 2012

Diamonds in the Rough: Snow!

by Amy Clark, Assistant Education Registrar & Membership Assistant, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden This morning I couldn’t wait to get to work. Why? Besides the obvious reason that I work at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, I couldn’t wait to see Diamonds in the Rough dusted with Virginia snow. I snuck down to the Anderson Meadow […]

Nov 17th, 2011

"The Old Tree" is Ready for the Season

by Nancy Turnage, Public Relations & Marketing Intern, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Last week we told you all about our new addition in the Conservatory — “The Old Tree”. We are happy to announce that volunteers Nancy Butler and Alexandra Slusher have created a masterpiece. The Old Tree is ready for holiday visitors! The inhabitants have […]

Sep 20th, 2011

It’s Getting Cole

by Albert Brian Vick Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Community Kitchen Garden Coordinator It’s time to plant the “cole” crops: Brassica (Cruciferae) family members like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Five intrepid volunteers joined us for Fall planting day at the Lewis Ginter Community Kitchen Garden. “Intrepid” because they had no idea of the task before us: […]