Friday, June 8, 2012

Lewis Ginter Conservatory & Botanical Garden

 

What does a flower gardener do while on vacation? Well look for sites that have flowers and wonderful gardens of course.
While in Virginia we visited the Lewis Ginter Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia. To tell the truth I wanted to see how it would stand up to the Conservatory and gardens we have here in Columbus, Ohio.

Lewis_Ginter_Conservatory2 I got my answers. And the conservatory in Columbus is much larger and nicer by far. As for the gardens, well the Lewis Ginter gardens whipped Columbus by a mile on their garden beds, venues and structures.

Lewis_Ginter_Garden The gardens and pond were so beautiful and there were so many wonderful structures on the grounds.

Lewis_Ginter_Structure This beautifully designed observatory building was in the Children's Garden. From it you could see all over the gardens and the pond.

LG_Childrens_Garden You knew you were entering their Children’s garden when you saw all these colorful hands on stakes ….

LG_Childrens_Garden2 and hand prints and butterflies adorning the fencing with the names of children written upon them.

LG_Childrens_Waterpark There was even a water feature in the Children’s Garden and a few tots were really enjoying running around among the jest of water and the sprinklers. It was so fun watching them playing and enjoying themselves. If you were a member of the Botanical Gardens it was a much safer way to have your children play in the water without the large crowds and deep water of the city swimming pools.

Lewis_Ginter_Pond Koi, water turtles and geese were some of the residents of the their beautiful pond.

LG_Turtle2

 LG_Geese_Goslings

Ahhh, so cute!

Lewis_Ginter_Fountain2
The dancing waters of the sunken fountain was beautiful. Plantings and benches lines the stone walls where you could set and enjoy the peaceful sound of the water.

LG_Benches And speaking of benches there were many and all different styles in the gardens where you could rest and soak in the beauty on a warm day.

LG_Cleome Maybe you would like the iron benches….


LG_Hummingbird_Bench Or even one made to look like Hummingbirds sipping from a bloom.

LG_Japanese_Garden3
In the Japanese Garden you could seat under this beautiful structure in the shade on a hot day and listen to the many birds singing their hearts out…

LG_Robin_Bath or catch a Robin taking a bath in the stone stream that ran through the garden.

LG_Kids2
Everyone likes a bench in the garden.

LG_MoonGate A Moon Gate is always fun to look and walk through to enter a garden bed.

LG_RoseArbor A separate cutting garden with a huge arbor filled with roses was on the grounds where weddings were held.

LG_SunDail No I do not know how to tell time from a Sundial but they are fun to have in a garden.

LG_Pedestal  These are some of the structures that were found on the ground of the Botanical gardens.

Lewis_Ginter_Conservatory
I will share some of the flowerbeds, butterflies and the conservatory in later postings.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend and…
Happy Gardening,
Lona

13 comments:

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

This was a fun tour. Thanks for taking me along. I think the difference in the two gardens (Columbus vs Richmond) is all about climate. Columbus has the rough winters even into April so you Ohioans have a wonderful indoor Conservatory. Richmond has the joy of Eastern Seaboard warmth so can concentrate more on the outdoor features. Also, gazebos, benches, etc are much easier to keep up where the freezing/thawing cycle isn't as rough. I speak from experience here in Western WV.
Thanks to your photos I am ready to head across these mountains to Richmond.
nellie

Diana LaMarre said...

What a great opportunity you had to visit that lovely conservatory. I thoroughly enjoyed this post.

A Garden of Threads said...

Hi Lona, What a fantastic place, I would sit on the hummingbird bench for sure. Have a great weekend:)

Unknown said...

What a fun place to visit. I love the garden bench statue with the children's feet dangling and we have Canada Geese all over here but I can't recall ever seeing baby ducklings. Precious.

Nadezda said...

Lona, what a wonderful trip! I love the fence-"hands", the bench-"wings", the wedding place :0)

Sunray Gardens said...

Some great shots Lona. Not only is it lovely but seems so peaceful also.

Cher Sunray Gardens

Serenity Cove said...

Looks like a place I'd like to visit. Love the pond! If there was one thing I could add to my garden,it would be a pond.
Looking forward to seeing more pictures this week.
Hope you had a nice vacation.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful place Lona. I seek out garden spots too whenever I go on vacation (which has not been often lately) I would love to travel the worlds largest garage sale route someday tho ~ that would be deviating from gardening but following another interest!

Joe Todd said...

I'll add it to my list. Great phtos as always

RobinL said...

Wow, there are so many pretty spots there that I can't even choose a favorite! Visiting gardens is my favorite vacation activity, go figure.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Thanks for sharing Lewis Ginter Gardens...been a long time since I was there.
Love the hummingbird bench!!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

What a fun, beautiful place! Thanks for sharing your awesome photos!

pogonip said...

I'm catching up on by blog reading after our trip to see little Sierra. I always enjoy your photos, but sseing a couple weeks worth all at one time has given me a new appreciation of your talent as a photographer, Lona. you have a good eye, my friend!