Blooms & Gardens

Sep 17th, 2024

Before the Fall

Nature has kept one of her most colorful secrets hidden for months now. Since early spring, she has dressed her deciduous trees in regulation green. Then, through some sartorial sleight […]

Jul 25th, 2024

An Update on the Butterflies LIVE! Exhibit

After more than a decade of captivating and educating visitors, our Butterflies LIVE! exhibit is taking an extended pause to make room for something very exciting. We will not have […]

May 15th, 2024

How the Rose Garden Grew

Louise Cochrane loved roses. She grew roses in her home garden at Walnut Hill. She captured the essence of roses in many of her paintings. And for many years, she […]

Apr 26th, 2024

A Salute to Southern Blue Flag

Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, traveled between heaven and earth on a celestial curve of color, delivering messages from the Gods to their mortal subjects below. (She is […]

Mar 20th, 2024

The Daffodil Connection at Lewis Ginter

As the bright spring daffodils signal the arrival of spring and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden gears up for the 2024 Virginia Daffodil Society Show, I wanted to highlight a unique […]

Mar 12th, 2024

Flourish: 40 Years and Growing

2024 is the Garden’s 40th Anniversary, and we’re celebrating all year! Flourish is the theme and includes familiar favorite events and exciting new ones. To ensure you don’t miss anything, we’ve […]

Jan 26th, 2024

Nature tosses a spray of scarlet orbs into the lackluster landscape this time of year, decorating the bare branches of Winterberry holly with much needed nourishment for local wildlife. Winterberry […]

Nov 30th, 2023

The Legends and Lore Behind Holiday Greenery

The holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and pine we decorate with this time of year have their own backstories that tell of mythical beginnings and magical powers. We have been bringing evergreens […]

Oct 31st, 2023

10 Spooky Plants to Get in the Halloween Spirit

Halloween is in the air and nature wants in on the fun, too. Here at the Garden, we have unique plants with weird characteristics, eerie habitats, and names that remind […]

Jun 17th, 2022

The Versatility of Snake Plants

Snake plants, sometimes called “mother-law’s-tongue,” are fascinating plants that thrive easily both indoors and out. Also, they make quite an impression! This summer, Senior Horticulturist Dean Dietrich planted a cultivar […]

Sep 1st, 2021

Volunteers Making a Difference Gardening

“The Garden would be a jungle without them,” says Senior Horticulturist Elizabeth Fogel, the gratitude in her voice infused with respect and relief. “Or overrun with weeds, for sure. They’re […]

Aug 26th, 2021

Afghan Women’s Garden Beds

This blog post about the Afghan Women’s garden beds was written before the events in Afghanistan the week of August 16, 2021. The women continue to visit their garden beds […]

Aug 16th, 2021

Renovating the Kroger Community Kitchen Garden

The Kroger Community Kitchen Garden (KCKG) at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is one of many of our direct connections to the community. Since its inception in 2009, the KCKG has […]

May 5th, 2021

Overcoming Obstacles: The Kroger Community Kitchen Garden

Everyone should be able to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables. The Kroger Community Kitchen Garden at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden helps make that possible by growing and harvesting produce and […]

Dec 15th, 2020

Christmas Cactus: A Case of Mistaken Identity

My friend Carla knows a lot about plants. Ever since the day her mother found dirt in her diaper, she’s been a gardener. When she told me she couldn’t figure […]

Nov 16th, 2020

Yaupon Holly: The Forgotten Beverage

The yaupon holly shrub looks commonplace. It is not flashy or fancy. It doesn’t even have the prickly leaves we normally associate with hollies. If you walk by it without […]

Nov 6th, 2020

Garden or GardenFest Zoom Backgrounds

What better way to celebrate nature than with a beautiful scene from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden as your Zoom background at your next work meeting! We all need a bit […]

May 6th, 2020

Garden Zoom Background

We’re bringing you a Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Zoom background gallery to kick off National Public Gardens Week. Why not use a custom virtual Zoom background in your next meeting to […]

Apr 21st, 2020

Tips for Starting Your Vegetable Garden

Need some tips for starting your vegetable garden? We have them here! Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s Senior Horticulturist Laurel Matthew recently shared some of her insight on Facebook Live and […]

Mar 31st, 2020

Garden Activist Calls for Revolution

Revival, social justice and defiant compassion marked the pleas of Benjamin Vogt, owner of Monarch Gardens, a prairie-inspired garden design firm in Lincoln, NE. During Lewis Ginter’s Winter Symposium in […]

Feb 28th, 2020

What Are Natives?

What are natives? What nature intended: Natives are the plants that grow naturally in a region — as in, they generally occurred here before European settlement. They also are the […]

Feb 7th, 2020

Magnolia amoena — Rare & Vulnerable

You can find a rare beauty, Magnolia amoena, right here in Richmond, blooming now at the north end of Sydnor Lake at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. With plants, like people, […]

Jan 18th, 2020

Pineapple Love

Have you ever walked into a grocery store, spotted a tropical fruit and said, “I’m going to try to grow one of those!”? You’d have to be a bit of […]

Sep 17th, 2019

Emily Herr Adds a Welcome Mural

The iconic view of the Conservatory and the Central Garden leading up to it immediately draw in visitors. However, hidden behind the Conservatory, an oft-overlooked treasure awaits. The Kroger Community […]

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 […]