Norfolk Botanical Garden
Norfolk Azalea Garden | |
 Bridge at Norfolk Botanical Garden | |
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| Location | 6700 Azalea Garden Rd., Norfolk, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 36°54′10″N 76°12′22″W / 36.90278°N 76.20611°W |
| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | City of Norfolk |
| Architectural style | Naturalistic Landscape |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000895[1] |
| VLR No. | 122-1007 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 17, 2005 |
| Designated VLR | June 1, 2005[2] |
The Norfolk Botanical Garden (158 acres[3]) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia.
History
The Norfolk Botanical Garden was founded through the collaboration between Norfolk City Manager Thomas P. Thompson and horticulturalist
In 1958, the Old Dominion Horticultural Society took over maintenance and changed the garden's name to Norfolk Botanical Garden. The garden did at one point contain 175 acres, but the neighboring Norfolk International Airport expanded and took away 20 acres. A number of gardens were added through the 1950s and 1960s, including a Japanese garden, desert plants garden, colonial garden and rose garden.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1]
Gardens
The grounds include numerous theme gardens, including:
- All-American Selections Display Garden - features All-America Selections (AAS) of new annual varieties.
- Annette Kagan Healing Garden - medicinal plants, stream, and pools.
- Bicentennial Rose Garden (1976) - over 3,000 rose plants representing more than 430 varieties.
- Border Walk - traditional English-style border, with .
- Bristow Butterfly Garden (2 acres) - a habitat for butterflies and moths.
- Colonial Herb Garden - American herb garden of the 18th and 19th centuries, hedged with boxwood.
- Conifer Garden - dwarf and large .
- Fern Glade - numerous fern species.
- Flowering Aboretum (17.5 acres) - a collection of 336 flowering trees.
- Four Seasons Garden and Wildflower Meadow (1994) - more than 50 grasses.
- Fragrance Garden (1963) - fragrance plants, including , and fragrant flowering bulbs.
- Hofheimer Camellia Garden (1992) - one of the region's largest camellia collection; more than 500 varieties. Predominant types are varieties of Camellia japonica and C. sasanqua.
- Holly Garden & Turner Sculpture Garden (1950s, 3 acres) - evergreen hollies in garden "rooms". The garden contains 121 varieties of hollies, including more than 20 types of American and Asiatic hollies and a dozen English hollies are grouped by geographic regions.
- Japanese Garden (1962) - created to honor Norfolk's sister city, Moji, Japan, and rededicated in 1962 to Kitakyushu, formerly Moji; redesigned and refurbished in 1995.
- Kaufman Hydrangea Garden - nearly 200 varieties of hydrangea and close relatives.
- Matson Garden (0.25 acres) - large sweeps of perennials and smaller mixed groups.
- Mirror Lake (1939) - lake with paved trail and small woodland trails.
- NATO Overlook - view of garden, with redwoods and blue atlas cedars; named in honor of the nearby NATO installation.
- Norfolk International Airport Overlook - detailed map of Norfolk International Airport with a description of how planes work. Visitors can monitor airport ground communications.
- Purity Garden - Cataldi's sculpture of Madonna and Child, with backdrop of camellias.
- Renaissance Garden (1994) - patterned upon Italian Renaissance gardens of the late 16th century, with vista, terraces, stone fences, statues of the seasons, and reflective pool and fountain.
- Rhododendron Glade - more than 175 azalea and rhododendron varieties.
- Sarah Lee Baker Perennial Garden (1 acre) - more than 200 varieties of perennials, in a formal setting with limestone fountain and canals.
- Statuary Vista - eleven, seven-foot heroic sized statues carved from da Vinci, etc.).
- Sunken Garden (1963) - small pool with shade and sun plants.
- Tropical Garden - bananas, elephant ears, eucalyptus, gingers, etc.
- Virginia Native Plant Garden (6 acres) - four plant communities that once covered much of southeastern bald cypress / tupeloswamp; bottomland hardwood forest; longleaf pine flatwoods; and Atlantic white cedar forest.
- Winter Garden - plants of winter interest.
- World of Wonders (3 acres) - for families and children.
Tours offered
Tram
The tram starts behind the Baker Hall Visitor Center, in the designated tram circle. The tram tour takes approximately 25 minutes, and has nine stops around the garden. On weekdays during the designated tram season, the tram runs hourly from 10:00AM to 4:00PM daily. Private tours for larger groups can be booked by contacting the Visitor Services team. The tram is driven by a Garden Guide that will explain the different gardens passed by during the tour.
Rose Walking
This tour is an in depth view of the Bicentennial Rose Garden. It was completed in 1976 in honor of America's 200th birthday. Inside the 3.5 acres there are 3,000 individual rose bushes representing roughly 400
Boat
A 45-minute tour that starts and end at the boat basin right behind Baker Hall and next to the Japanese Garden. The tour goes out onto Lake Whitehurst, where you learn about the lake and all the inhabitants and is offered seasonally from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Gallery
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Passiflora incarnata (Passion Flower) in the Butterfly House -
Two types of Plectranthus scutellarioides (Coleus). -
Cleome hassleriana "White Pink Spider Flower" -
Japanese style bell at the Japanese Garden -
Japanese style cistern fountain at the Japanese Garden -
Japanese Garden waterfall -
Fountain in the Perennial Garden -
Entrance to World of Wonders -
Border Walk -
Plum rose specimen
See also
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c Cheryl S. White (December 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Norfolk Azalea Garden" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying four photos
- ^ "History – Norfolk Botanical Garden". Retrieved November 11, 2019.
External links
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