Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Blog

Jul 2nd, 2015

CarMax FREE Fourth of July

Once a year we open our gates to the public for a free admission day: CarMax Free Fourth of July. This is one of our favorite events because we get […]

Jul 1st, 2015

We’d like to welcome Mitra Bryant and Kevin Ratliff, new educators in the Children’s Garden. Since our Children’s Garden staff sometimes develop a bit of celebrity-status with you guys, I wanted to introduce […]

Jun 29th, 2015

Thanks to the “RAIN” Makers

Thank you RAIN (Richmond Autism Integration Network) for volunteering in the Children’s Garden. This group is not afraid to get dirty and help out in the Garden. Today they mulched […]

Jun 27th, 2015

Food for Those in Need

It’s been another hot but productive week in the Community Kitchen Garden. We hit our first 1,000 lbs. of produce this week with help from a group from Forest City […]

Jun 26th, 2015

Found Objects & Gardens

Gather found objects, add infinite imagination and create whimsical gardens like none other. That is the premise that inspires Jason Reeves, horticulturist and research associate at the University of Tennessee […]

Jun 26th, 2015

Southern Icon’s Ancient Secret

A southern summer wouldn’t be complete without the sweet smell of the southern magnolia blossom. Magnolia grandiflora, an icon of the South, is such a marvelous tree. Its large shiny […]

Jun 24th, 2015

From the Executive Director

My favorite moment from the Spring at Lewis Ginter: A young mother and three little girls are walking through the Central Garden. Mom is telling a fairytale in a breathless voice. […]

Jun 22nd, 2015

Helping Hands in the Garden

It’s been a great, but hot, week in the Community Kitchen Garden. This week we took two deliveries to Feedmore’s Community Kitchen for a combined total of 478 lbs. This one […]

Jun 18th, 2015

Thank You Butterflies!

This week, June 15 – 21, is National Pollinator Week. Pollinators are essential to our food supply and natural environment. Did you know that one in three bites of everything […]

Jun 17th, 2015

Lunch with the First Lady

It’s been two weeks since Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden sent Amina Abdulkadir and Lilah Monroe to help with the season’s first harvest in the White House Kitchen Garden — yet […]

Jun 16th, 2015

Unearthly Delights: Sci-Fi Plants for Your Garden

Ok. I’m a nerd. A science fiction nerd. Plants, trees and vegetation have figured prominently in science fiction literature and movies for decades. As an avid garden nerd as well, I delight […]

Jun 14th, 2015

Volunteer’s Bountiful Harvest

This week Genworth Financial sent another great group of volunteers to work in the Community Kitchen Garden. The volunteers helped harvest 159 lbs. of fresh vegetables to take to Feedmore’s Community Kitchen, […]

Jun 13th, 2015

Reflections on Mother’s Day

Last Mother’s Day was our seventh Mother’s Day spent enjoying Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden with my family and my best friend’s family. You’ve likely read about some of our other adventures […]

Jun 12th, 2015

Volunteering as Learning

According to Richard Louv, “Childhood memories of contact with nature involve a deep sensory imprint of texture, smell, color, sound, and taste (Louv 2005).” Most of my childhood memories involve […]

Jun 11th, 2015

1st Graders Volunteer in Children’s Garden

Recently the Richmond Waldorf School reached out to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden — our Children’s Garden in particular, as they sought to fulfill one of their 10 values: “That schools should awaken social responsibility, service […]