Virginia Gardens Virginia's gardens are inviting any time of year.
A variety of flowers, plants and trees line the walkway at Richmond's Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

By Holly M. Rodriguez
In 1884, Richmond businessman Lewis Ginter purchased 10 acres of what was formerly the hunting ground of Powhatan Indians. The land later became the site of his Lakeside Wheel Club, a resort for cyclists. Cycling was a booming hobby at the time, and sportsmen traveled to the resort using the Missing Link Trail, which carried them through the middle of town to their destination. Pedestrians rode in on a trolley. Once there, guests would visit a zoo and the first professional nine-hole golf course in Richmond, both created by Ginter.

Years later Ginter’s property is still a destination for tourists and locals alike. It’s now the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and features 20 acres of plants, flowers and trees. Ginter’s niece, Grace Arents, started the gardens, and their growth and expansion can be attributed to supporters of Arents’ vision.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is just one of the commonwealth’s many well-tended grounds that are a delight for any garden lover. If you are willing to hop in the car and drive a few hours, you won’t have to travel far to escape into the beauty of nature.

What better place to start than in our capital city? The E. Claiborne Robins visitor’s center is one of the newest additions to Lewis Ginter and should be your first stop. For $1.95, you can pick up a pamphlet in the gift shop that tells the history of the gardens. There’s also a café with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide an inviting view of the grounds.

As you begin your tour, the sound of a running stream lures you into the Asian Valley, a collection of plants, flowers and trees from the Orient. Along the dirt path, a common birch, with twirling trunks and dangling branches, and a stand of bamboo sharing a similar shape may catch your attention. The stream flows past the Lora and Claiborne Robins Tea House in the middle of the garden, where lunch is served daily.

The Henry M. Flagler Perennial Garden, which nurtures more than 770 species of perennials and plants on its three acres, is known as one of the most diverse gardens on the East Coast.

Woodland Walk, a small forest with a dirt path, leads you to Bloemendaal House. Built by Lewis Ginter when he purchased the property, Bloemendaal House was originally a cyclists’ clubhouse. Ginter’s niece inherited the house upon his death in 1897 and turned it into a children’s hospital and later into her home. The garden that greets you at the entrance was restored in 1990 by The Garden Club of Virginia based on Arents’ original design. Inside the house, porcelain flower sculptures line the wall of the foyer, and paintings and antiques fill the rest of the house. One hallway displays necklaces made from seeds, reeds, leaves and flowers from different types of plants.

Several other collections are open to the public, including flower and water gardens, and there’s even a greenhouse set aside for research. Several projects are under construction, including a conservatory, which displays exotic plants all year, and a maze garden. While spring is prime season for visiting Lewis Ginter, there are lectures, concerts and events throughout the year. These include a daffodil show on April 8 and 9, a concert and lunch on Mother’s Day, and the Groovin’ in the Garden concert series, which is held throughout the spring and summer and features a variety of bands.

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It’s impossible to think of gardening in Virginia and not think of Monticello. Thomas Jefferson, known for his vision as a scientific gardener, experimented with planting several hundred different trees, flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables at his Charlottesville home.

The Visitor’s Center at Monticello is a good place to begin before going to the main grounds a few miles away. A free, self-guided tour provides a synopsis of Jefferson’s contributions. There’s also a display of Jefferson’s horticultural interests, including a credit to European gardens for inspiring the landscape of his post-presidency residence. It’s even possible to take a little of Jefferson’s gardens home with you: But don’t pick anything. Instead, check out the gift shop — it sells seeds harvested by Monticello staff.

Seeds from the flower and vegetable gardens at Monticello are sold to the public.

When you arrive at Monticello, a van takes you from the parking lot to the house. Just to the right of the front entrance to Jefferson’s mansion is the winding walk, a beautiful introduction to the outdoor tour. You brush past lavender, foxglove and tulips as you make your way around the west lawn. You may want to stop briefly and admire the oval flower gardens once maintained by Jefferson and his daughters.

A stone wall encloses a 1,000-foot-long vegetable garden, which is tended just as it was in Jefferson’s day. Divided into 24 plots, the squares are arranged according to how the vegetables are harvested — fruits, roots or leaves — and are separated by grass walkways. If you stand above the wall, you can view the vineyards below and the orchards where apples and peaches were grown for cider, brandy and livestock feed.

If you’re hungry after the long walk, which can take an hour or two, you may wish to stop at Michie Tavern, a short drive from Monticello. It’s a tourist spot: The staff’s Colonial garb and period music bring to mind visions of men eating and drinking themselves into a stupor. For $10.95, you get all you can eat, but in keeping with the Colonial theme, the tavern menu is limited. After the garden walk, however, it’s easy to fill up on soup, cornbread, chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and more.

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Another American president, George Washington, shared Jefferson’s interest in horticulture. His River Farm on the Potomac River, one of five farms that once formed the Mount Vernon estate in Fairfax County encompasses 25 acres of flowers, vegetables, herbs and orchards.

While River Farm, a few miles north of Mount Vernon, maintains some of Washington’s original garden landscape, today it is more a display of plants, flowers and trees maintained by several horticultural clubs. The azalea garden, for example, has hundreds of different species that are maintained by local chapters of the Azalea Society of America.

Washington planned an upper garden to display boxwood, magnolia and wisteria. The plants were gathered by the former president himself or were sent by friends and visitors. A greenhouse kept exotic plants shipped from the court of Louis XVI of France. The lower garden was the vegetable garden for the Mount Vernon kitchen. The produce, maintained by slaves for consumption by the Washington family, included carrots, onions, turnips, artichokes, cabbage and cauliflower.

Dogwoods grow throughout the property, and other theme gardens include: wildlife, home to reptiles, birds and a collection of aquatic plants; roses; herbs for aromatherapy, flavor and more; a children’s garden; a perennial border; and an orchard that includes apple, pear, cherry and plum trees.

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In 1938, 200 workers from the Works Progress Administration cleared ground to plant 4,000 azaleas. Norfolk Botanical Gardens has since expanded to 20 gardens covering 155 acres and is home to a blend of perennials and annuals providing blooming plants all year round. Surrounded by Lake Whitehurst, the garden is home to the largest collection of azaleas, rhododendron, camellias and roses on the East Coast.

If you visit in the winter, stop by the Hofheimer Camellia Garden. One of only two national collections in the United States, 300 varieties of this flower bloom here in the winter. The Tropical Pavilion gives a glimpse of collections beyond our borders — plants from Africa, southeastern Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Central and South America. But this garden isn’t only plants and flowers.

After walking through the Flowering Arboretum, featuring more than 17 acres of trees and shrubs that grow in southeastern Virginia, you may want to visit the bird sanctuary, which attracts more than 90 species of birds. There’s also the nearby butterfly garden, which provides a welcoming habitat. The Colonial herb garden displays medicinal and culinary herbs and plants that colonists grew from 1700 to 1800.

The Renaissance Court is the official site for the annual March coronation of the Azalea Festival Queen. Other events include the Arbor Day tree giveaway, when free seedlings are distributed, and a plant sale that offers unusual plants, garden art, furniture and supplies. If you’re in need of a bite to eat, lunch is served at the Garden House Café overlooking the Japanese Garden. Also available are train tours with wheelchair access and boat tours.

These are just four of the dozens of Virginia gardens that are open to the public. For details on other properties, visit the Charlottesville-Albemarle Council of Garden Clubs Web site (www.monticello.avenue.org/garden/about.html). For further inspiration, take a tour each April of Virginia’s finest private, residential gardens. The Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week program — in its 67th year — offers tours of historic homes and gardens throughout the state. For details, visit www.vagardenweek.org.