Blooming into spring at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Molly Manning, Contributing Writer

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden celebrated spring with its second annual Big Bloom Party on April 11. Because of the rainy weather, the event was moved inside the various buildings on the garden property.

The party was an adults-only, fully floral affair celebrating the beginning of the blooming flowers at the garden. Attendees were donned in florals, pastels and anything flower-inspired such as flower crowns and floral dresses, enjoyed art, music, refreshments and of course, the beautiful flowers of Lewis Ginter despite the rain. 

Attendee Juliaca Robles said that she was most looking forward to seeing the garden for the first time as well as the acrobats. She said it would have been nice to see the garden outside, though it was still a great experience. 

“I think with the weather they made it work,” Robles said. “So far it’s been great, it looks like a huge property and it looks like they have a lot of events here so I’d love to come back on a sunny day and really enjoy it.”

Food and drinks were available for purchase in the café of the Robins Visitors Center. Attendees were treated to sweets, champagne and other beverages as well as Mediterranean-inspired snacks like gyros and hummus.

Performances included aerialists from Cirque de Sacrilosa, musical duo Lucy Kilpatrick and Ken Kellner and artists from the Lewis Ginter Homes & Habitats exhibition — a showcase of large-scale installations inspired by ecosystems, on view from March to September. Artist Heather Beardsley led an activity of writing and drawing on seed paper. Filmmaker Dietrich Teschner recorded sounds and memories to add to his sound installation. 

Homes & Habitats artist Matt Lively worked with visitors to create a large mural on canvas in the Kelly Education Center that he said he had hoped would be broken up and auctioned off to raise money for the garden. 

Lively said that he wished the event would bring more visitors to Lewis Ginter, which promotes environmental education.

“I think people leave with new knowledge on what they can do in their yard, not only to make it prettier, but also provide plants that pollinators can thrive on, and then go and spread the plants all over the place,” Lively said.

Michelle Israel, director of exhibitions at Lewis Ginter, said the goal is to make this event a tradition, as this was the second consecutive year that it has been hosted. 

Everything that was initially planned outside was occurring indoors, and the turnout was still great, according to Israel. 

“People are having a great time, enjoying and just taking their time to explore the different offerings,” Israel said.

Israel said that sustainability is always at the forefront at Lewis Ginter, and the event has been designed to incorporate sustainable practices such as using biodegradable seed paper for one of the art exhibitions.

Poet A. Logan Hill of Poems for People wrote poems for guests upon request. He said Lewis Ginter is not only a great date spot, but also an important place in the Richmond community. As far as the Big Bloom event specifically, Hill said he wanted to connect with more people and to spread peace, love and joy through the art of literacy and poetry.

“It offers a lot for the Richmond community educationally and also just by celebrating the beauty of spring, for this event, but in the winter they do stuff too. It’s a good place to be outside and also be learning the whole time,” Hill said.