Ginter Again

Another visit to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, this time squeezed in on 6 July during an unexpected family visit, under threatening skies and a dire afternoon rain forecast with temps in the 90s, a few hours before taking the night train home to New England.  (Previous Ginter post, summer 2016)

I was stuck again by how well this fairly small botanical garden is designed, signed, and maintained, by the variety of plants, by the correlation of the art to the garden’s mission and essence, and by the spaciousness of the many bathrooms and the two eating spots, one a cafe and one a more elegant but casual tea house. The large gift shop (larger than Longwood Gardens’!) is also always worth a visit. It’s really a gem of a garden.

bathroomGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Not a great shot of one of the women’s bathrooms but you can get a sense of the large scale, the soft colours, the cleaniness, and the light.

I visited the tea house for some water on this very hot and humid day:

teahouseexteriorGinterRichmondVA6July2018
bridge to and exterior of the tea house, with some origami art outside
interiortearoomGinterRichmondVA6July2018
inside the tea house; there’s outside seating, too, which I’ve enjoyed on past visits

I didn’t take a photo of the cafe, which I visited between 3 and 4, when lunch was over but light snacks were available; I bought a humus tray with cucumbers, carrots, celery, and pita bread, and an Orangina to drink, and I sat outside the visitors’ center on a chair in the shade while I called my sister.

whereIhadlunchandtalkedwithMelaniechairspatiobrickshadeGinterRichmondVA6July2018

The kids were really enjoying the water play area in the children’s garden!

kidswaterplayareahotdayGinterRichmondVA6July2018

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The art in the garden this time was metal origami, most of it (maybe all?) crafted by Kevin Box, sometimes in collaboration with others.

I was especially taken with Botanical Peace Squared:

signbotanicalpeacesquaredorigamiGinterRichmondVA6July2018botanicalpeacesquaredorigamiflowersbrickGinterRichmondVA6July2018

botanicalpeacesquaredorigamiGinterRichmondVA6July2018botanicalpeacesquaredorigamibGinterRichmondVA6July2018othersidebotanicalpeacesquaredorigamiGinterRichmondVA6July2018

I liked this bird (goose?), near a pond, too:

flyingbirdorigamiGinterRichmondVA6July2018

And this simple boat, reminiscent of so many paper boats that children float on water:

pondorigamiboatGinterRichmondVA6July2018walkwaypondorigamiboatGinterRichmondVA6July2018

The White Bison in the meadow reminded me that the Lego art show in 2016 also featured a bison in the meadow.

And the Squirrel and Acorn origami (“Seed Sower” and “Seed”) was vaguely reminiscent of the Squirrel and Fox Lego art in 2016 in about the same part of the gardens. (I didn’t take a photo of the acorn.)

“Hero’s Horse” is a pegasus who eventually took his place in the sky as a constellation.

Speaking of horses, I liked this jaunty trio — part origami and part kirigami — near the conservatory.

signPaintedPoniesredbluewhiteorigamiGinterRichmondVA6July2018redbluewhiteorigamihorsesGinterRichmondVA6July2018PaintedPoniesredbluewhiteorigamiConservatoryGinterRichmondVA6July2018PaintedPoniesredbluewhiteorigamicloseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

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The conservatory was hot …

hobbithousegnomeConservatoryGinterRichmondVA6July2018
a sort of hobbit house on one side of the conservatory
orchidsConservatoryGinterRichmondVA6July2018
… and orchids galore on the other side

… and the butterfly room (Butterflies LIVE!) was even hotter, probably more than 100F in effect with the heat and the humidity. Still, I spent 10 or 15 minutes here, sweat dripping liberally off my hands, face, hair. The butterflies seemed very happy and active.

I think this is a Postman butterfly (Heliconius melpomene):

Maybe also a postman?

blackredcreambutterflywingsclosedButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

I don’t know the names of these:

orangeblackspottedwhitebutterflyButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

Maybe Great Mormon (Papilio memnon)?totallyblackbutterflyButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

I really like this one (Clipper — Parthenos sylvia, I think): greenwhiteblackbutterflyopenButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

And this one — perhaps a Malachite, i.e., Siproeta stelenes — especially its colour similarity to the melon:greenorangewhitebutterflyclosedmelonButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

The curled proboscis!blackorangediamondscreambutterflyButterflyHouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018

This is a Common Morpho (Morpho peleides), whose large wing underside is brown and spotted and whose dorsal wing is brilliant blue. There were dozens flying around, flashing blue throughout the air, but I wasn’t able to photograph them. You can see a hint of the blue in the second photo here.

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Some plants and plantings that especially caught my attention:

magentaechinceachartreusethreadleafRhuTyphinamaybeTigerEyesstaghornsumacshrubGinterRichmondVA6July2018
pink echinacea and Rhus typhina “Tiger Eyes” staghorn sumac
redblueBlueFlossFlowerAgeratumHoustonianumBlueHorizonScarletSageSalviaSplendensVistaRedGinterRichmondVA6July2018
blue Ageratum houstonianum “Blue Horizon” (floss flower) and red Salvia splendens “Vista Red” (scarlet sage)
manypitcherplantssunkendeckGinterRichmondVA6July2018
pitcher plants sunk into decking
yellowredpitcherplantsGinterRichmondVA6July2018
closer view of pitcher plants
deepredpitcherplantspinkflowersGinterRichmondVA6July2018
closer view of pitcher plants
lotusesbridgepondGinterRichmondVA6July2018
lotus plants
pinkwhitelotusblossombGinterRichmondVA6July2018
lotus flower
CynaraspCardoonthistleplantbudsbumblebeeGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Cynara sp. (cardoon) with bumblebee
CynaraspCardoonthistleplantbloompurplebumblebeeGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Cynara sp. (cardoon) with bumblebee
CynaraspCardoonthistleplantflowersGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Cynara sp. (cardoon)
redhibiscusmallowflowerGinterRichmondVA6July2018
red hibiscus
purpleirispondGinterRichmondVA6July2018
purple iris near a pond
greenwhitehydrangeablossomsGinterRichmondVA6July2018
hydrangea blossom
MirrorPlantCoprosmaRepensTaupataGoldGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Coprosma repens “Taupata Gold” – Mirror Plant. I’d never heard of it.
agavegrassescontrastGinterRichmondVA6July2018
contrasting agave and grasses
EucomisSparklingBurgundyPineappleLilystalkGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Eucomis comosa “Sparkling Burgundy” – pineapple lily
purpleclematismacroGinterRichmondVA6July2018
purple passion flower
tropicalmediangardencastorbeanplantGinterRichmondVA6July2018
tropical median garden with castor beans
tallyellowflowersredliliesGinterRichmondVA6July2018
tall yellow flowered plants with red daylilies
tallpondplantsThaliaDealbatapurpleflowersGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Thalia dealbata (aka hardy water canna, powdery thalia)
tallpondplantsThaliaDealbatapurpleflowerGinterRichmondVA6July2018
flowers of Thalia dealbata (aka hardy water canna, powdery thalia)
pinkcrepemyrtlefloweringGinterRichmondVA6July2018
crepe myrtle was blooming everywhere!
pinkcrepemyrtleflowerstrunksGinterRichmondVA6July2018
crepe myrtle
pinkcrepemyrtleflowersGinterRichmondVA6July2018
more crepe myrtle
FirebushredHamelaPatensCalusaGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Hamela patens “Calusa” (Firebrush)
redorangedayliliesGinterRichmondVA6July2018
red-orange daylilies, and grasses

 

fenneltropicalpinkliliesGinterRichmondVA6July2018
contrast of fennel and pink tropical lilies
HomeRunshrubrosehedgeGinterRichmondVA6July2018
‘Home Run” shrub rose
pinkdayliliesechinaceaGinterRichmondVA6July2018
the pinks of daylilies and echinacea
RubySpiderredyellowdaylilyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
“Ruby Spider” day lily
orangesedgegrassCarexTestacasignGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Carex testacca – Orange sedge – I was quite taken with this!
flowersshrubsdepthGinterRichmondVA6July2018
I liked the depth and variety of the plantings here
echinaceaBalsomsedSombreroSalsaRedGinterRichmondVA6July2018
my favourite echinacea of the day: Echinacea purpurea Balsomsed “Sombrero Salsa Red”
echinaceaBalsomsedSombreroSalsaRedcloseGinterRichmondVA6July2018
closer look at Echinacea purpurea Balsomsed “Sombrero Salsa Red”

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Pathways and Views:

healinggardencircleGinterRichmondVA6July2018
healing garden – one of my favourites
urinarysystemsignhealinggardenGinterRichmondVA6July2018
about half of the signs in the healing garden concern systems of the body and which plants can affect it
walkwayconservatoryrosegardenstonewallarchitectureGinterRichmondVA6July2018
walkway with view to rose garden and conservatory
gardenviewfromtreehouseGinterRichmondVA6July2018
view of gardens from treehouse
formalgardenGinterRichmondVA6July2018
formal garden
shadywalkwaypaversGinterRichmondVA6July2018
shady walkway
walkwaystonewallliliesgrassescrepemyrtleGinterRichmondVA6July2018
walkway between stone walls, with lots of crepe myrtles and grasses
walkwayorigamicannaliliesyellowbellsGinterRichmondVA6July2018
walkway with origami, canna lilies, yellowbells flowers
poolfountainscrepemyrtlesGinterRichmondVA6July2018
pool with small fountains, crepe myrtles
conservatorycannalilieselephantearstropicalgardenGinterRichmondVA6July2018
tropical leaves and lilies, shrubs, view to conservatory
brickCarolSparkesLovedherchildrenthunderestormstreesandmeGinterRichmondVA6July2018
there are many memory/honour stones and bricks in the walkways, like this one: “She loved her children, thunderstorms, trees, and me”
WhiskeyandSodabrickGinterRichmondVA6July2018
another honour stone 🙂
brickwalkwayconservatoryfrogstatuespoolGinterRichmondVA6July2018
pool, frogs, brick walkway to conservatory
crepemyrtlesconservatorybrickwalkwayflowergardensGinterRichmondVA6July2018
more walkways to conservatory — you can see a bit of the threatening sky here
goldenJapanesemapletreepondbestGinterRichmondVA6July2018
golden Japanese maple tree and lantern at pond
stonewalkbrickwallarchechinceayellowliliesGinterRichmondVA6July2018
stone/slate walkway, brick archway, echinacea and lilies
curvingwalkwayyellowflowersGinterRichmondVA6July2018
curving walkway with yellows and greens
maybeblackeyedSusansswathyellowGinterRichmondVA6July2018
closer view of Rudbeckia hirta “Tiger Eye” blackeyed Susans

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A few more insects and other animals:

bluedasherdragonflyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
maybe blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly
blackwhitespotteddragonflyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) dragonfly
blacksplotchedchalkytaildragonflyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
maybe common whitetail (Plathemis lydia) dragonfly
brownstripedspotteddragonflyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina) dragonfly
greenbrownyellowdragonflyGinterRichmondVA6July2018
Eastern ringtail (Erpetogomphus designatus) dragonfly
blackformswallowtailfennelGinterRichmondVA6July2018
black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes)
blueblackwhitebutterflyoutsideGinterRichmondVA6July2018
I think this is either a black swallowtail (don’t see the swallow tail) or a red-spotted purple (don’t see the red spots) butterfly
bigturtlepondbacklegsGinterRichmondVA6July2018
large turtle in pond
larageturtlepondGinterRichmondVA6July2018
large turtle in pond
sparrowcloseGinterRichmondVA6July2018
song sparrow

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As always, I highly recommend stopping in to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden if you’re in central Virginia.

GinterentrancepurpleflowerswalkwayGinterRichmondVA6July2018
one entrance to the gardens

 

 

 

2 comments

  1. Those butterflies! So beautiful. I never see a variety like that here. What a lovely garden tour.

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