Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden- Richmond, VA

Conservatories are a thing of beauty. Delicate yet substantial, they keep winter at bay, and remind us of spring’s promise. Although only dating to 2003, Ginter’s could easily be mistaken for a relic from an earlier era. Indeed, with 50 acres of formal gardens, water features and follies, it has the feel of a grand Gilded Age estate, despite being developed a full century later.

In 1895, prominent Richmond businessman Lewis Ginter purchased 9 acres of land once owned by Patrick Henry, for use as a bicycle club. It soon developed into an early amusement park of sorts, with a lake, clubhouse, bowling alley, billard room, cafe, golf course and casino. Following Ginter’s death, the property was purchased by his niece, Grace Arents, who enlarged the abandoned clubhouse, and opened it as a convalescent home for sick Richmond children.

When the convalescent home was no longer needed, Arents moved into the remodeled clubhouse, along with her companion Mary Garland Smith. Upon Arents death in 1926, the property was left to the City of Richmond, with the stipulation they develop a botanical garden on the site after Smith’s passing.

Although the city took possession of the land in 1968, it languished until 1982, when a group of citizens formed the Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden non-profit and sued the city to uphold Arents’ will. In 1987, the generically named Pittsburgh landscape architecture firm Environmental Planning and Design was retained to develop a master plan for the grounds.

Over the next three decades, the plan unfolded beautifully. Across the property, themed gardens emerged, later joined by a visitors center, greenhouses, and the glass domed conservatory. An impressive complex, it certainly honors the legacy of both Lewis Ginter and Grace Arents.