Sustainable Practices

Aug 7th, 2024

Giving Back to the Garden for Every Budget

Want to give back to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden? There are many ways to do it, starting at zero dollars! Help us continue to connect people to plants by inspiring […]

Dec 26th, 2023

10 Ways to Reuse or Recycle Christmas Trees

The presents are all opened, and the holidays will soon draw to a close. But the evergreen in your living room still has a lot to give. Here are some […]

Oct 3rd, 2023

8 Tips to Help Native Butterflies Thrive

When it comes to supporting native butterflies in your area, what you choose to plant in your garden can go a long way! As the coordinator for M&T Bank Butterflies […]

Sep 13th, 2021

Plant Seeds: A Seed Library

Right before the pandemic, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden started a Seed Library. It’s a place where you can “check out” and “borrow” seeds just like you would a book at […]

Jul 16th, 2021

Is the Monarch Butterfly Disappearing? Are Butterflies Less Common Now?

Recently, many visitors have been asking if we’ve noticed a dramatic decline in monarch butterfly sightings and butterfly sightings in general. “I have a pollinator garden and have seen no […]

Jun 17th, 2021

Planting for Pollinators

Something serendipitous happens when a bee or a beetle, a bird, a bat or a butterfly rummages through the bright bloom of a flower in search of food. Lured by […]

Apr 28th, 2021

Elizabeth Fogel: Designing for Tomorrow

Senior Horticulturist Elizabeth Fogel studied the latest theories for sustainable and regenerative landscapes by visiting 10 eco-focused botanical gardens over the past two years. Her cross-country travel and hands-on research […]

Apr 9th, 2021

Feed the Birds with Native Plants

Whether you enjoy bird watching or you like to feed the birds, native plants are a great way to attract them to your yard! Should We Use Bird Feeders? So […]

Sep 15th, 2020

Fall Vegetable Gardening

It’s no secret gardening has skyrocketed in popularity since COVID-19. In the spring, some seed companies had to temporarily stop taking orders after an overwhelming surge in demand. Although that […]

Jul 20th, 2020

Japanese Beetles

There’s a question we’ve been hearing a lot these days. “What do I do when Japanese beetles are eating all my plants?” Japanese beetles happily consume and damage the plants […]

May 12th, 2020

Life in the Dirt: Soil Health

Did you ever make a mud pie? Was there a day when you played outside until you were utterly covered in dirt? At some point in your life, did you […]

May 5th, 2020

Citizen Science in Your Own Backyard

If you have ever been interested in observing a bird building a nest outside your window, citizen science could be for you. If you have ever wondered what the best […]

Apr 27th, 2020

The Value of Trees

Are trees just pretty or do they do something more? Does one tree matter? If one tree can make a difference in our environment, what can many trees do? Most […]

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 […]

Mar 28th, 2020

Starting Seeds: Use What You Have

With the COVID-19 pandemic making social distancing now the norm, many of you probably have some time on your hands. Bet you’re a garden lover too! Let’s make the most […]

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 22nd, 2020

Spring Garden Planning

Standing in line at the store recently, I was behind a young mom with four children in tow. I couldn’t help but notice she was buying seeds, soil, a container […]

Feb 12th, 2020

Five Wedding Trends That Will Inspire your Garden Wedding

Spring is on its way, and the wedding season is on our minds, so we’ve compiled a list of five wedding trends that will elevate the entire event. From immense […]

Jan 28th, 2020

Gardening Trends: Ecosystem Health

The new year’s forecast for gardening and horticulture reveals little that’s new. Trend spotters expect more of the same … but intensified. With a 20/20 view of the past, 2020 […]

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 […]

Nov 18th, 2019

Insects Take the Heat

Humans aren’t the only ones who feel the heat. Global warming affects insects, too. Their responses vary by species and environs, including creative adaptions over time. “Insects and mites are […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Aug 13th, 2019

Companion Planting to Support Beneficial Insects at Lewis Ginter

The screams of a dozen middle- and high school-aged girls pierce the still air in the Kroger Community Kitchen Garden. I’m in the middle of a demonstration about beneficial insects, […]