On February 18, 1958 the Norfolk City Council, at the urging of the Old Dominion Horticultural Society, authorized the development of a botanical garden. They set aside 75 acres of land adjoining the 100-acre Municipal Gardens (more commonly referred to as Azalea Gardens) that was established in 1938. A 25-acre municipal plant nursery was on…
Posts By: Dandy Lion
Giving Thanks
This is good time of year to give thanks for all the things we have and I am thankful for lots of things here at the Garden. Thanks for all the grand trees we have. They give us shade in the summer, structural beauty in the winter, wonderful fall color and budding hope in the…
Lions, Tigers & Bears . . . Oh My!
I live in a botanical garden, not a zoo. However, I am not surprised that some people think about animals when they are here. Walking around the garden there is a veritable menagerie of plants with animal names. Let’s take a look at a few of them. Visitors on safari outside the education offices will…
Seeing Red
With the temperature getting hotter, we are seeing a lot of red these days. There’s more red showing in the thermometer, people walking around the garden sometimes have red faces flush from the heat and exercise, and of course there are plenty of red flowering plants. This is especially true in the hummingbird garden. The…
Twas the Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Garden All the lights were blazin’ and the cars were a-comin’; The stockings were hung by the camellias with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The plants were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of compost danced in their heads;…
Summertime a Peel
Summertime is a great time of year to see lots of different flowering plants. We have gardens focusing on butterflies and hummingbirds and the plants they desire. The perennial garden, sensory garden and tropical garden are all bursting with flowers. Color is everywhere. One plant commonly seen around the Garden is the crape myrtle. This…
Spring Odyssey
There are two types of people who visit the Garden… Wait, that sounds like the start of a bad joke. People come to the Garden for many different reasons, but generally people come with a specific purpose in mind or they come to wander around and see what’s here. In other words, for some folks…
Barking up the wrong tree
Every January, it gets very quiet in the Garden. Few visitors come and brave the cold weather. I am pretty certain that many people also have the mindset that “there is nothing to see.” It’s winter, all the plants are asleep. Or so most people think. Certainly this is not the season for over-the-top floral…
Showing Their True Colors
Everyone likes to make a good impression. When we meet someone, they make an effort to “put their best foot forward” and only after you have been with them a while do you really get to know them. Some plants are the same way. Take the weeping cherry, for example. Most people are introduced to…
Creepy Plants
Halloween is almost here and people are getting all excited to scare each other. I love a good fright now and then too. Last year I talked about some seasonally scary plants, but I really didn’t mention a few that truly creep me out. These are the ones that will sneak up on you as…