Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens offers children's garden for Richmond children and families

The fountain at the front entrance at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA is one of Richmond’s most visited attractions. It holds year-round beauty with more than 40 acres of spectacular gardens, the mid-Atlantic’s only classically styled conservatory, and a new adventure-filled Children’s Garden. The garden also offers great dining and shopping, too! For up-to-date information, please visit www.lewisginter.org.

The gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. They are closed the days of Thanksgiving, December 24th, December 25th and January 1st. Garden highlights include distinctive themed gardens, and a conservatory with indoor displays of orchids and tropical plants. The children’s garden is a learning landscape of exploration and fun featuring a tree house, water play, children’s greenhouse, international villages and more. The garden shop has an extensive collection of garden accents, containers, books, gifts, toys and jewelry. Casual to fine dining is offered in the Garden Café and Tea House.

Other services and opportunities include classes, group tours, sponsorships, facility rentals, membership and volunteering. Lewis Ginter is on the corner of Lakeside Avenue and Hilliard Road, just 15 minutes from downtown Richmond, off of I-95 and convenient to I-64 and I-295. The direct address is 1800 Lakeside Avenue, Richmond, VA 23228-4700. Contact telephone number is (804) 262-9887.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s mission is to provide education to the community about the plant world, promote the best in horticulture and landscape design, and work toward the goal of being a leader in botanical and applied horticulture research. Their newest learning environment, the children’s garden is an ever-changing place to wonder, wander, explore and discover the natural world through hands-on experiences.

The Children’s Garden offers a unique opportunity to buy an engraved handprint! When you purchase an engraved handprint, you are joining hands with other donors to support the continued growth and vitality of the children’s garden. Your purchase is a lasting way to say to loved ones: “I care about you, and the garden too.” Engraved handprints are placed on the permanent fence surrounding the children’s garden. Each handprint is crafted of durable metal, is about 6 inches tall and comes in a variety of colors- yellow, pink, hot pink, purple and blue. Handprints can be personalized with the donor’s or loved one’s name. For more information about handprints, please call (804)262-9887 ext. 334. A single handprint for a nonmember is $250, $200 for member.

This year, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is celebrating its 25th year anniversary with a theme of “metamorphosis.” The Garden’s plans include many special events and the return of the popular Butterflies LIVE! Exhibit from May 22nd to October 11th. One of the events is a 25th Anniversary Symposia, a special series that remembers the Garden’s commitment to community development and education. Nationally renowned speakers will engage audiences on a variety of topics resonant with the Garden’s mission. These anniversary events have been made possible by the Robins Foundation.

• August 4 & 5: Green Tonic: Urban Gardening for Health and Wholeness
• October 28 & 29: Timeless Design in a Sustainable World: The Charles F. Gillette Forum

Another 25th anniversary event is the Butterflies LIVE! Exhibition from May 22nd through October 11th. The North Wing of the Conservatory will be filled with hundreds of jewel-winged beauties. Walk in the midst of these delicate creatures and learn their life cycle by watching as butterflies emerge from chrysalides and “dry and exercise” their wings—a process that takes up to two hours before the butterfly is ready to fly.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens also offers a Flowers After Five series on Thursday evenings from July 2nd to September 24th. Flowers After Five features wine sampling from 6-8:30 p.m., live music from 6-8 p.m., as well as dining and shopping. Leashed pets are welcome on August 13th and September 10th. There is a $2 pet donation requested for the Richmond SPCA. Flowers After Five is a regular garden admission. Wine sampling tickets are an additional $10. The Garden is open until 9 p.m., Butterflies LIVE! is not open after 5 p.m. Flowers After Five is sponsored by TruGreen LandCare, 12 On Your Side, Style Weekly, VCU Jazz Trios, and Two Wine Guys, LLC. Regular Admission: adults $10, seniors $9, children (3-12) $6, children under 3 and members FREE. The 2009 Sampling Schedule is as follows:

• July 16th: Summer Sippers
• July 23rd: South of the Equator
• July 30th: Rose Wine Among the Roses
• August 6th: Sparkling Summer Nights
• August 13th: Fidos After Five- Sassy Sauvignons (in partnership with Richmond SPCA)
• August 20th: Down Right, Down Under (wines from Australia, also taste local organic tomatoes)
• August 27th: Selections for a 3-course meal (an aperitif, a dinner wine and dessert wine)
• September 3rd: Pinot Envy
• September 10th: Fidos After Five- Italian Romance (In Partnership with Richmond SPCA)
• September 17th: Let’s Be Different (uncommon and enjoyable varietal grapes/wines)
• September 24th: The Virginia Harvest ( a celebration of Virginia wines, also taste local organic greens)

The Garden Shop is open from 5-7 p.m., the Café is open from 5-8 p.m., and the Tea House Dining is from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Live music ensembles each week features VCU Jazz trios. Wine education and selection by Two Wine Guys. Thanks to the presenting sponsor: TruGreen LandCare. Wine sampling stops at 8:15 p.m., no outside food or drink, please. Organic tomatoes and greens are available while supplies last.

Consider Garden membership. Benefits include:

• unlimited free admission during regular Garden hours throughout the year
• mailings including the Garden Times newsletter, adult classes, trips and workshop schedules, and special invitations
• two free guest passes
• member discounts on classes, trips, workshops, GardenFest of Lights and in the Garden Shop
• free membership in the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Gardens program including special admission privileges and discounts at gardens, arboreta and conservatories all over the country (please visit the website for a complete list: www.lewisginter.org, or stop by the Robins Visitor Center).
• Borrowing privileges in the library for horticulture books and videos
• Half price admission for guests on Mondays
• Discounts on Handprints in the Children’s Garden
• Discounts at local businesses (visit the website for a complete list www.lewisginter.org, or stop by the Robins Visitor Center).

For more information on the Patron’s Program and Annual Giving and how to receive a FREE membership with your annual fund gift, please call (804) 262-9887, ext. 311 or review the website at www.lewisginter.org.

Garden Membership Options: (all memberships include garden member benefits. A portion of each membership is tax deductible)

• Teacher/student: $35/1 year, $60/2 years (full-time only, one person)
• Senior (one person, 55 and over): $45/year, $80/2 years
• Individual: $60/year, $110/2 years
• Dual (two named people): $75/year, $140/2 years
• Family (2 adults & up to 6 children under age 18): $85/year, $160/2 years
• Out of town individual: $45/year, $90/2 years (out of town memberships are available for those who live outside of the following Virginia areas: Richmond, Colonial Heights, Petersburg & Hopewell, and the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King William, New Kent, Powhatan and Prince George.)
• Out of town family/dual (2 adults & up to 6 children under age 18): $60/year, $120/2 years
• Military individual: $45/year, $90/2 years
• Military family/dual: $60/year, $120/2 years
• Plus one guest (allows member to bring one guest to the garden for free during regular garden hours. Excludes special ticketed events and member-only benefits): $20/year, $40/year.

History of Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens:

The Garden is on property that was Powhatan Indian hunting ground and was once owned by Patrick Henry. For more detailed information regarding the Garden’s history, please go to www.lewisginter.org.

A Brief Timeline of the Garden:

In 1884, Lewis Ginter bought the property and built the Lakeside Wheel Club, a one-story structure that was later modified and incorporated into Bloemendaal House. The Wheel Club was a destination for Richmond bicyclists. In 1897, Lewis Ginter died at age 73. In 1913, Grace Arents, Ginter’s niece, bought the abandoned Lakeside Wheel Club. She remodeled the structure, adding a second story, and made it a convalescent home for sick children from the city. Later with the founding of the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association, the convalescent home was no longer needed and Arents moved into the house with her companion, Mary Garland Smith. She called it Bloemendaal in tribute to the Ginter family’s Dutch ancestors and developed gardens on the property. Bloemendaal means “valley of flowers.” In 1926, Grace Arents died at the age of 78. She willed life-rights to Smith and stipulated after Smith’s death the city of Richmond was to develop the property as a botanical garden honoring Lewis Ginter. In 1968, Mary Garland Smith died at the age of 100. The city of Richmond took possession of the property. The city investigated plans for a botanical garden but none of them came to fruition and the property languished. In 1981, a group of botanists, horticulturists and interested citizens banded together to form the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Inc. to uphold the will of Arents. A lawsuit ensued. In 1984, an amicable settlement allowed the formation of the Garden. The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was chartered by court decree. In 1989, the Garden Club of Virginia restored the Grace Arents Garden as the first garden site of the new Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. In 1993, the three-acre Henry M. Flagler Perennial Garden was completed and dedicated, a gift of the Flagler Foundation. The Robins Tea House was built and dedicated, a gift of E. Claiborne and Lora Robins. From 1994-1995, the West Island Garden, the Children’s Garden, the Lucy Payne Minor Garden, the Margaret Johanna Streb garden and the cottage garden were completed. On May 1, 1997, the Garden announced phase one of its capital campaign, “A Growing Vision.” In spring of 2004, the Garden completed its $41 million Capital Campaign.

Projects included:

• Anne Holt Massey Greenhouses (opened March 1999): A fully automated, state of the art, growing and research facility used to produce plants from around the world.
• E. Claiborne Robins Visitor Center (opened April 1999): 27,000 square feet of meeting facilities, gallery space for exhibits, special entrance for group tours, expanded garden shop, garden café and other amenities for visitors.
• Central Garden (planted in 2000): 3 acres of gardens behind the visitors’ center which includes the Four Seasons Garden, a rose belvedere, an arbor, a healing garden and a sunken garden.
• Education and Library Complex (opened September 2002): A library, classrooms, and meeting facilities to serve children and adult education programs and garden-related organizations.
• Conservatory (opened March 2003): This formal, classical building features year-round displays filled with colorful, rare and fascinating plants from around the world.
• Children’s Garden (opened September 2005): A learning landscape with a wheelchair accessible Tree House, Adventure Pathway, International Village and Sand and Water play areas.
• Rose Garden (opened May 2008): More than 1,800 stunning roses selected for fragrance, re-bloom and disease resistance. The Rose Garden includes a meandering pathway allowing guests to be surrounded by scented blooms. A terraced lawn and stone pavilion make this a popular area for rentals and performances.

Basic Facts:

Founded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is located on 80 acres in Richmond, Va. A public place for the display and scientific study of plants, LGBG is one of only two independent public botanical gardens in Virginia and has the designation of a state botanical garden. The vision of the garden is to become one of the top ten public gardens in the U.S., known for the quality of its displays, facilities and programs. It offers year-round beauty on a historic property with more than 50 acres of spectacular gardens. More than a dozen themed gardens include a Healing Garden, Sunken Garden, Asian Valley, Rose Garden, a wetland garden, a Victorian garden, and a Children’s garden. A classical domed Conservatory is the only one of its kind in the mid-Atlantic with ever-changing displays, orchids and tropical plants.
 

The Education and Library Complex includes the Joan Massey Conference Center, the Lora M. Robins Library, and the Charles F. Gillette Education Center featuring classrooms and laboratory space. The E. Claiborne Robins Visitor Center features the Garden Shop, Garden Café, meeting space and exhibits. The Robins Tea House restaurant serves lunch daily and overlooks the lake and garden. The Conservatory houses exotic and unusual plants from around the world. The Children’s Garden provides a learning landscape with a wheelchair-accessible Tree-House, Adventure Pathway, International Village and Water and Sand Play areas. The Garden also rents its facilities for special events and is a popular site for corporate events and weddings.

Hours of Operation: The hours for the Visitors Center and Garden are daily from 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. The Garden Café is open daily from 10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m., the Robins tea House is open daily from 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., and is closed some days in January and February, and the Garden Shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. The Garden has extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays in April, July, August and September.

Cost: There is no charge to enter the visitors’ center; however, there is an admission fee to enter the Garden. The cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $6 for children ages 3-12.

Special Events: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens hosts events throughout the year such as plant sales in the Fall and Spring, A Million Blooms throughout April, a Mother’s Day concert, the Groovin’ in the Garden concert series and GardenFest of Lights throughout December and holiday season.

Education: Adult programs range from “how-to” sessions to lectures by renowned garden experts. Children’s programs are age-specific and meet Virginia Standards of Learning requirements.

Research: The Garden collects and cultivates plants from all over the world and maintains a botanical library and herbarium.

Facility Rental: The Garden is a popular setting for special events and meetings. Facilities for rent include the E. Claiborne Robins Visitors Center, the Joan Massey Conference Center, Bloemendaal House and the Robins Tea House. The Garden hosts over 400 weddings, private events and meetings annually.

Membership: Membership to the Garden is open to anyone. Currently, the Garden has over 12,000 member households. For one low annual fee members can visit as often as they like and enjoy special benefits such as 10 percent discount in the garden shop and the Garden Times newsletter. An individual membership is $60 and a family membership is $85.

Volunteers: Volunteers were instrumental in the development of the Garden and continue to play an important role. Approximately 600 people volunteer at the Garden.

Attendance: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a top tourist destination in the Richmond area and typically ranks in the five most-visited Richmond attractions.

July Schedule:

July 15th: Yoga in the Garden, 9:30 a.m.; Fall Into Spring: Plant Now for Spring Flowers 4pm, Drop in and Dig, 9 a.m.*, Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 16th: Flowers After Five 5-9 p.m.*, What’s Your Flower Drawing Workshop, 10:00 a.m., Trees and shrubs for the Home Landscape 6pm, Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 17th: Green Hour, 11 a.m.*, Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m.- noon*
July 18th: Drawing the Big Picture (of the Garden), 9:30 a.m., Nature Works! Family Workshop: Garden Pollinators, 10 a.m. *
July 20th: Monday Evening Yoga in the Garden 6:15 p.m., Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon *
July 21st: Families After Five, 5-9 p.m.*, Wedding Floral Design Part 1, 6:30 p.m., Green adventures summer camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 22nd: Yoga in the Garden, 9:30 a.m., Drop in and Dig, 9 a.m. *, Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 23rd: Flowers After Five (taste melons), 5-9 p.m.*, Trees and Shrubs for the Home Landscape, 6 p.m., Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 24th: Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon *
July 25th: Drawing the Big Picture (of the Garden), 9:30 a.m., Good Green Fun with stuff Richmond 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. *
July 27th: Monday Evening Yoga in the Garden, 6:15 p.m., Green Adventures Summer Camp 9 a.m. – noon*
July 28th: Families After Five, 5-9 p.m.*, Agriculture in the Garden (K-7 Teachers Workshop), 9 a.m.; Wedding Floral Design Part 1, 6:30 p.m., Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 29th: Yoga in the Garden, 9:30 a.m., Agriculture in the Garden (6-8 Teachers Workshop), 9 a.m., Plant it Now: Fall Vegetable Gardens the Organic Way, 4 p.m., Drop in and Dig, 9 a.m.*, Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*
July 30th: Flowers After Five, 5-9 p.m.*; Photographing Butterflies and other cool bugs, 6 p.m., Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon *
July 31st: Green Adventures Summer Camp, 9 a.m. – noon*

* in the Children's Garden

Families After Five is sponsored by Ukrops. Tuesday evenings, June – August, 5 – 9 p.m. Water Play remains open until 8 :30 p.m. Free with garden admission (food available for purchase in the Garden Café until 7 p.m.) Relax and unwind after work with your family in the Children’s Garden where there’s always something to see and do!

Investigation Stations- July: Daily 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. July’s theme: Garden Dwellers. Free with garden admission. Investigation stations are themed interpretive displays within the Children’s Garden that provide visitors with information about garden-related topics such as garden habitats, plant products, tree identification, garden insects, and plant fibers and dyes. Activities change on a weekly basis.

• July 9-15: Things with Wings
• July 16-22: Who Lives in The Garden
• July 23-29: The Four R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse!)
• July 30-August 5: Super Seeds

Kid Quest: Available year-round, free with garden admission. Using the Kid Quest guide and mapping skills, families solve clever clues and find their way to hidden treasure in the garden. Along the way, children and their adults are encouraged to record names of plants they encounter. Quests available at the Visitors Center with new editions every two months.

Water Play Schedule: Daily 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. and on Tuesdays (June – August) until 8:30 p.m. during Families After Five. Wear your bathing suit and water shoes to enjoy gentle water sprays. Swimming diapers required for those not yet potty trained. Water Play operates when temperatures are 70 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

Garden Picnic Policy: Picnicking may be enjoyed at the picnic tables in the Children’s Garden only (no alcohol, tobacco products, glass containers or coolers larger than 1x1x1 foot.

For more information about the Gardens, please visit www.lewisginter.org, or call (804) 262-9887.