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November 2024 by Mere
It isn't that Lewis Ginter isn't a lovely space, they are, and when they put forth the effort, the experience is very pleasant. They're not cheap, though, and I generally pick and choose when I go to coincide with the events because there's more value, especially if a group of us want to go.
Clearly, not all events are as important to them as others. I made the error of bringing friends to the Día de Muertos celebration today, and for something which is extremely culturally important to a lot of us, the near nonexistence of decorations, activities, or anything else proves Lewis Ginter cared far more about luring people in than actually providing today and I'm incredibly disappointed. The tea house is blocked off, the conservatory is closed for construction, and while I enjoy the roses as I always do, it definitely wasn't worth what any of us paid to enter the garden today.
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November 2024 by Nicholas Cobb
Was visiting from Texas and members of the Dallas Botanical Garden which has reciprocal membership and got in for free, which was awesome. Beautiful grounds, exquisite flowers and shrubs that were all properly marked so we never wondered what we were looking at. Way better than what we have in Dallas and Fort Worth. Easy to walk around and explore without a map and cute items in the gift shop to add to our garden and never forget this experience. Gift shop employee took special care of our breakable purchase to make sure it survives our flight home. Free parking that was very convenient. Wish some of the gorgeous flowers we saw could survive the Texas heat! Thanks again for a lovely experience and especially to the volunteers that take the time to accurately mark the flowers and shrubs so we knew exactly what we were looking at….your dedication is much appreciated :)
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November 2024 by Arianna Davidson
4 Stars
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden truly impressed us with its expansive, beautifully maintained grounds! We didn’t anticipate just how large it would be, with multiple themed gardens, a serene lake, a children’s garden, and a stunning conservatory. Currently, there’s some construction going on behind the conservatory, which looks like an expansion project—exciting to see what’s in store for future visits since conservatories are usually my favorite part!
During our visit, there was a lively festival or event happening, which added a wonderful vibe to the day. We enjoyed delicious Indian food and browsed through a variety of art stalls. It really seems like a fantastic place to bring kids—so peaceful, beautiful, and family-friendly. The staff was incredibly friendly, and the gift shop was a delight for frog and mushroom lovers like me (I couldn’t resist the adorable wool frog Christmas ornaments!).
The reason for 4 stars? While we had a lovely time, I wasn’t completely “wowed” by the displays, likely because we visited between peak blooming seasons, so there were quite a few empty spaces or dead plants. We’re moving to Richmond next year and are looking forward to visiting again in spring, when we can see it in all its glory!
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October 2024 by Erik Cockerham
Best place I've ever been
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October 2024 by Cathie Bales
A picture perfect day to walk around the garden. Some flowers were still hanging on to their blooms since there hasn’t been a frost yet. There were quite a few roses still blooming.
The conservatory had several blooms and a wide variety of tropical plants. There is a major construction project underway to increase the size of the conservatory.
There is a library and meeting rooms along with a gift shop and dining room.
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October 2024 by colin woodside
TL;DR: We paid extra to be able to get ready for our wedding in a “secure” room in a private building at Lewis Ginter and literally got robbed during our wedding.
We booked the Bloemendaal House because of the all-in-one venue: a spot where we could get ready, a spot where we could have all of our photographs taken, a spot where we could get married, a spot where we could have our reception, all within one-ish acres. When we talked about paying the additional deposit to secure the space from noon until our reception ended at 10pm, we were told about each of the “get ready rooms” for the wedding party. We were told that each of the rooms, in our case, the one for the Bride, which was downstairs and the most visible/high traffic, and the Groom’s which was upstairs and far less visible/populated, would be safe and secure so we wouldn’t have to worry about our things during the ceremony and the reception.
While getting ready, the only people that were upstairs were upstairs when I was—the best man, the photographers, the event coordinator. The only person that I didn’t recognize was the Lewis Ginter security guard that did a couple laps around the grounds. I was in that room from about 2 until 4:15, when we began taking pictures. Most of our 56 guests arrived roughly 15 – 20 minutes before the wedding, which began at 6pm.
After the reception, I started gathering my things in the Groom’s “get ready room”, and several of my possessions were not in the exact spot in which they were left during the process of getting ready. At this point, there are now three items that were taken, totaling hundreds of dollars in value stolen from me, out of my backpack, in a room that we were told would be safe and secure for our possessions that were special enough to bring to our wedding. At least one other thing that I’m sure was also in my backpack at my wedding hasn’t been located, yet, bringing the total to three items, two of which are still missing, and one of which that absolutely wasn’t small or unnoticeable.
After we let them know that things were stolen from the Groom’s suite, we had a meeting just over a week later with a representative from Lewis Ginter. One of the missing items was found “on a golf cart” and then returned to me at the meeting, and we were apologized to profusely while being assured that “nothing like this has ever happened before”. During this meeting, we were told that a security guard found “about ten” of our guests in the Groom’s “get ready room” and then shooed them out. We don’t have any other information about that, yet. No time, no description, no other details that might help us figure out who did it, and no further information from Lewis Ginter’s end. We were told "about 10" of our guests walked past a “staff only” sign and went into a room they didn’t know about that had valuable things in it at some point during our wedding or reception, took them, and then got the missing items past us as we said goodbye to everyone.
The contract that we signed says that LG isn’t on the hook for anything that happens to anyone’s property while they’re on LG’s grounds. We paid extra for early access to private areas in a private building to get ready for our wedding that we were told would be secure for ourselves and our possessions from noon until 10pm, and then had things stolen out of that secure room. There is no recourse because they have an Indemnification Clause.
Our wedding was a beautiful and memorable celebration of our love, and it was full of joy. And someone robbed me during the time where our things were supposedly safe and secure. Trust and integrity are important. Should you be able to trust a venue that tells you that your incredibly personal and valuable possessions will be safe and secure while in specifically designated spots meant for the wedding party to get ready and to store their possessions? Absolutely. That wasn't the case for us at Lewis Ginter, b
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October 2024 by Bobbie
First time here after years if living in Richmond. I'm sad that the butterfly exhibit is under renovation. However, everything else was so beautiful and peaceful. We went on a Monday afternoon, so I imagine most kids were in school, which made for a quiet day.
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October 2024 by Wendi Cramer
First time here and I came for a concert. As far as a concert venue it's lovely, sound was great and the surroundings were unmatched. Can't wait to get here for a true garden exploration experience.
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October 2024 by Raychael Chavez Coombes
We just sort of happened o
this garden. Absolutely LOVED this place! We could have stayed here all day! Everyone was so kind and helpful. There was soooo much to see! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the conservatory, but we saw just about everything else. The flowers were amazing. Everything was well manicured. It was just stunning! They even had a plant sale! I highly recommend going!
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October 2024 by Janice Van Allen
We had a wonderful afternoon at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The gardens are stunning, with well-labeled plants, trees, and flowers throughout. The trails are gorgeous, making for a pleasant walk while enjoying the scenery. The massive greenhouse was a highlight, featuring an impressive collection of cacti and succulents—and even a small cabin inside! The kids garden was cool and had a massive treehouse. The trees here are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen, and the visit gave us plenty of inspiration for our own garden.
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September 2024 by James Alexander
Cindy and Jesse are amazing and talented would reccomend to anyone.
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September 2024 by Austin
Beautiful place to visit, I used to do volunteer with my school, and it was worth the experience. Great gardens and it’s so fun!
Update (9-2-2024): I went back for Labor Day with my friend and his family, and the pictures below just go to show that the gardens are beautiful and it was a while since I last been! I enjoyed the moment!
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August 2024 by Ashley Tromba
First time visiting. Went on a Thursday a bit after it opened. Did a full loop of the place in less than two hours but could definitely have spent longer it was just too hot to linger outside long. The inside of the brick buildings were nice and air conditioned. It wasn't busy at all. Was disappointed the tea house wasn't open but really don't know what it's hours we're anyway so maybe that's a weekend thing. Anyway, the kids area looked like a lot of fun and wish I had brought my own bathing suit lol
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August 2024 by Janelle Mitchell
The security manager-Jim, at the Lewis Education Center, harassed a disabled veteran and his service dog. We had the proper certification and were still harassed and asked to leave. It is unacceptable that an establishment does not follow the law that protects the disabled.
** It's important to ensure that the security team, particularly the Manager- Jim, receives proper ADA training to align with the requirements. It was observed during my visit that there were many gaps in ADA compliance that could benefit from additional attention and training.
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July 2024 by Austin Wallace
Do not spend money for a concert here. The front of house tent completely obscures the stage. Save your money and listen to the artist on Spotify.
