Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

 The Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens are located in Richmond, Virginia.  These gardens are simply amazing.  In fact, they are the winner of the 2011 National Medal for Museum and Library service.

  The history of the gardens is interesting.  They are on property that was once the hunting grounds for the Powhatan Indians.  The land was also owned by Patrick Henry.  In 1884, Lewis Ginter purchased the land.  In 1913, Ginter's niece, Grace Arents, developed gardens on the property.  It was her desire that when she and her partner died, the land be given to the city of Richmond to be developed as botanical gardens, honoring Lewis Ginter.  In 1968, the city took over the property, but the gardens didn't come to fruition until 1981.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Three Houses


 

The children's garden is one of the best I've seen.  There are about eight different areas where children can learn about the natural world.  One neat feature is the International Village.  There are playhouses and plants that represent cultures from all over the world.  There's a "tukal" African shelter, a Latin American "casista," and a Native American longhouse.  There's also an Asian teahouse and an "everyone's house," where kids can design their own place.



The Farm Garden, pictured below, consists of six 20 x 20 plots where kids can plant and harvest their own vegetables and fruit.
Farm Garden

2 comments:

  1. Sherry, Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. You are very blessed to have a musical talent and your wonderful family and your ability to write books.

    I too, love gardening but haven't done the vegetables in years..... just flowers. I find the GMO's terrifying so I'm thinking veg seeds again...

    The garden in Virginia is gorgeous and I like the historical part of the land, too.
    Cheers...Manzanita

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