norfolkbg

This tiny specialty garden is tucked away in a location that visitors to the administration building will be delighted to discover. Established by the Redwood Garden Club of Norfolk in 1963, the Sunken Garden features a small pool complemented by a variety of shade-loving and sun-tolerant plants. This garden’s intimate character emanates an ambiance of peaceful seclusion.

The Holly Garden, established in the 1950’s by the Lakewood Garden Club of Norfolk, is a 3-acre display of evergreen hollies set in garden “rooms.” More than 20 different types of American and Asiatic hollies and a dozen different English hollies are grouped by geographic regions. Hybrids developed from these hollies are also planted here. The garden contains 121 varieties of hollies. The sparkling red, orange and green berries of the Holly Garden provide especially beautiful displays in NBG’s winter landscape.

Local wildlife is captured in bronze sculptures by William and David Turner and are placed throughout the garden.

This meadow features a mixture of more than 50 species of wildflowers and 10 species of grasses. The area is an outdoor classroom where one can observe wildflowers and the birds and insects they attract.

It demonstrates an alternative to traditional high maintenance urban landscaping. Most importantly, the flowers and grasses present a constantly changing vista of natural beauty for those who stroll along its pathways or relax near the flowing fountain in the shade of the gazebo.

Perry E. Morgan donated money for the establishment and maintenance of The Bunny Morgan Memorial Wildflower Meadow, now the Four Seasons Garden, in honor of his late wife, who had long  been a wildflower enthusiast.

One of the secret gems of Norfolk Botanical Garden, the Winter Garden is situated between the Colonial Garden and the Annette Kagan Healing Garden. Plants which flower or are showy through the winter are displayed along this shady path. Look for plants with interesting branches, foliage, fragrance or fruit as well as those that flower.

There are more than 2,300 plants representing 350 different species and cultivars of conifers found at Norfolk Botanical Garden. A concentration of them can be found in the Conifer Garden, which is a designated Reference Garden for the Southeast as determined by the American Conifer Society. This is a good area to see the variety of conifers – to compare their sizes, colors, forms, and unique characteristics.In this area we have combined conifers with companion plants such as  Agapanthus, Sedums, daylilies, and ornamental grasses. Cheery daffodils punctuate the perennial plantings in late winter and spring.

The Hofheimer Camellia Garden is located near Renaissance Court.

Norfolk Botanical Garden has more than 1700 camellia plants. Approximately 750 of those plants are found in the Hofheimer Camellia Garden, established in 1992 as a joint project of the Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Virginia Camellia Society. It is named in memory of Alan J. and Aline F. Hofheimer, founding members of the Virginia Camellia Society. This garden includes 500 different types of Camellia japonica, 40 different types of Camellia sasanqua and more than 180 other species and hybrids.

In 1997, the Garden’s camellia collection was named an Official North American Collection by the American Public Gardens Association’s North American Plant Collection Consortium (NAPCC). The Garden is one of only two NAPCC collections focusing on camellias.

In 2001, the Camellia collection received the Garden of Excellence Award from the International Camellia Society. There are currently only 11 gardens with this designation in the world.