Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Blog

Jul 8th, 2017

Conservation Conversation

A visitor recently asked me about Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s conservation efforts. It made me stop and think. So many of those efforts are simply part of our everyday activities. […]

Jul 5th, 2017

The Joy of Butterfly Host Plants

Have you ever wondered which plants are butterfly host plants? Since it is officially summer, I recently packed up the car for a camping trip with friends to Crabtree Falls to see if I could learn more. The […]

Jul 1st, 2017

Top 5 Tips for Visit with Tweens

School’s out for summer! Now what? It doesn’t take too long for the euphoria to fade to “I’m sooo bored,” especially with tweens. People may be familiar with some of […]

Jun 23rd, 2017

CarMax Free Fourth of July & CarMax Volunteers

When I look back at how Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has changed over the years, I think about some of the physical changes: the new Lotus Bridge, the floating docks and […]

Jun 18th, 2017

Cooking Demo: Honey

Chef Anne Maury Haapala on work, motherhood and her upcoming honey cooking demo This week I met with Executive Chef, Anne Maury Haapala who has recently returned to her roll with […]

Jun 16th, 2017

Gardening as a Career: Taking it to the Next Level

Randy Minor has always had a connection to plants. His mother, Flordeen Cabiness, took him to the James River Park System often when he was a kid. They lived near Forest […]

Jun 13th, 2017

Container Plantings

Landscape need a punch of color? Front entry desperate for a bit of cheer? Or perhaps your spring annuals are withering in the heat? Beth Burrell, garden designer and consultant, […]

Jun 11th, 2017

Mother’s Day Ideas & Reflections

Where does the time go? Nine years ago, I started bringing my family to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Mother’s Day, several years before beginning work in Ginter’s education department. […]

Jun 9th, 2017

Gardening From the Heart

My mother was a gardener. She had blackberries and tomatoes in our backyard, and an herb garden near the back door that flavored her thoughtful and delicious meals. In her […]

Jun 3rd, 2017

Meet Butterflies LIVE! Staff

When you visit Butterflies LIVE!, we understand that you’re here to see the butterflies, to drink in their beauty, and to consider their nature. That’s as it should be. Often times the butterflies will pique your curiosity and […]

Jun 1st, 2017

Drawing Flowers in The Garden

At first I felt a little out of place. I was a teenage student in a group of middle-aged women, some of whom were far beyond me in skill drawing flowers. […]

May 26th, 2017

People with Purpose

Making a Difference with Urban Greening The last few months have been a whirlwind, as the Garden launched and wrapped up its first training cohort of Ginter Urban Gardeners. I […]

May 22nd, 2017

Locally Grown

Message from the Executive Director Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, are native to the other side of the planet, with a genus named after an 18th-century Swedish merchant. Yet crape myrtles […]

May 19th, 2017

What in the World is a Beer Shandy or Radler?

I never thought I liked beer… Then again, the only beer I had ever tasted was a “light” version out of a can. But my feelings about beer changed when […]

May 16th, 2017

Save the Trees

“I wish people would put as much emphasis on their trees as their lawns,” said Joel Koci, a certified arborist with the Urban Forestry Extension of Virginia State University. “Trees […]