Norfolk Botanical Garden

Last updated

Norfolk Azalea Garden
Rose Garden - NATO Vista Bridge 3 NBG LR.jpg
Bridge at Norfolk Botanical Garden
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location6700 Azalea Garden Rd., Norfolk, Virginia
Coordinates 36°54′10″N76°12′22″W / 36.90278°N 76.20611°W / 36.90278; -76.20611
Built1938
ArchitectCity of Norfolk
Architectural styleNaturalistic Landscape
NRHP reference No. 05000895 [1]
VLR No.122-1007
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 17, 2005
Designated VLRJune 1, 2005 [2]

The Norfolk Botanical Garden (158 acres [3] ) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia.

Contents

History

The Norfolk Botanical Garden was founded through the collaboration between Norfolk City Manager Thomas P. Thompson and horticulturalist Frederic Heutte. In 1938, the pair were granted 75 acres (300,000 m2) of high, wooded ground plus 75 acres (300,000 m2) of reservoir for a city garden. Later that year, under a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant, 200 African-American women and 20 men cleared the site. By March 1939, 4,000 azaleas, 2,000 rhododendrons, several thousand miscellaneous shrubs and trees, and 100 bushels of daffodils had been planted. and another grant was quickly secured to expand the garden. [4] [3]

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:

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 cultivars. It was previously one of 23 testing sites for the All-American Selection for roses (All American Rose Selection), and now it is a designated display site only.

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.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrub</span> Small- to medium-sized perennial wood plant

A shrub or bush is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed as subshrubs. Many botanical groups have species that are shrubs, and others that are trees and herbaceous plants instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polly Hill Arboretum</span> Arboretum in Marthas Vineyard, MA

The Polly Hill Arboretum includes 8 ha under cultivation, with an additional 16 ha of native woodland, located on Martha's Vineyard at 809 State Road, West Tisbury, Massachusetts, United States. It has been developed since 1958 by the horticulturist Polly Hill, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden on the James Madison University campus, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States in the Shenandoah Valley. Groundbreaking for the arboretum took place April, 1985, under direction of Dr. Norlyn Bodkin,[1] who is credited the first scientific botanical discovery along the Eastern Seaboard of Virginia since the 1940s, Trillium: Shenandoah Wake Robin, presently found at the arboretum[2]. The only arboretum located on the campus of a Virginia state university. Exhibits include a developed trail system through 125 acres (0.51 km2) of mature Oak-Hickory Forrest with two identified century specimens and a species on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Threatened Species list protected at the arboretum: Betula uber, Round-Leaf Birch.[3]

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile Botanical Gardens</span> Botanical gardens in Alabama

The Mobile Botanical Gardens were founded in 1974, and are located on Museum Drive in the Spring Hill community in Mobile, Alabama, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Robinson Gardens</span> United States historic place

The Virginia Robinson Gardens are the period landscape, historic mansion, and botanical gardens located at the Virginia Robinson Estate in Beverly Hills, California, United States.

The Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens is a 1,176-acre (4.76 km2) Florida State Park, botanical garden and historic site, located in Tallahassee, in northeastern Florida. The address is 3540 Thomasville Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park</span> United States historic place

Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, which includes the Coe Hall Historic House Museum, is an arboretum and state park covering over 400 acres (160 ha) located in the village of Upper Brookville in the town of Oyster Bay, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hare Hill</span> Country house in Cheshire, England

Hare Hill Hall is a country house and a garden in the parish of Over Alderley, Cheshire, England. The house and grounds are privately owned, and the separate nearby garden is in the care of the National Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reeves-Reed Arboretum</span> United States historic place

The Reeves-Reed Arboretum is a nonprofit arboretum and garden located at 165 Hobart Avenue in Summit, Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is the only arboretum in Union County. A popular wedding spot, the arboretum grounds are open daily from dawn till dusk, free of charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakewold Gardens</span>

Lakewold Gardens is a 10-acre (40,000 m2) non-profit estate garden located at 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood, Washington, in an area known as the Lakes District. It is open to visitors year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Harold Hillier Gardens</span> Arboretum in England

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden</span> United States historic place

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is a 66-acre (27 ha) botanical garden located at 8525 Garland Road in East Dallas, Texas, on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris Arboretum</span> Public park, University of Pennsylvania, USA

The Morris Arboretum & Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Arboretum is open daily except for major holidays. It is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Botanical Garden of Georgia</span>

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is a botanical garden of 313 acres in the United States, with a conservatory operated by the University of Georgia. It is located at 2450 South Milledge Avenue, Athens, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massee Lane Gardens</span>

Massee Lane Gardens are botanical gardens focusing on camellias, located at the American Camellia Society headquarters, 100 Massee Lane, Fort Valley, Georgia. They are open to the public for an admission fee.

Mast Arboretum is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) arboretum and botanical garden on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, one of 4 main gardens on the campus. The arboretum is open daily without charge.

Frederic Heutte was a leading writer, gardener and horticulturist in Norfolk, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wojsławice Arboretum</span>

Wojsławice Arboretum is an arboretum, located in Wojsławice, Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It occupies an area of 62 ha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oaklawn Garden</span> Botanical garden, park, local history museum in Germantown, Tennessee

Oaklawn Garden, also known as Oaklawn Gardens, is a botanical garden, park and museum located at 7831 Old Poplar Pike in Germantown, Tennessee, United States. A historic residential home, erected by the original landowner in 1854, is situated on the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayfield Garden</span> Garden in New South Wales

Mayfield Garden is a cool climate garden situated in Oberon in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. Located approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Sydney, the garden is one of the world's largest privately owned cool climate gardens, lying within a 2,000-hectare (5,000-acre) working farm. The garden is known as one of Australia's most significant horticultural destinations and has become a key element of the tourism industry in the Central West area of the state. Mayfield Garden is open daily with an entry fee, whilst the full private estate is also opened to the public for a short period during each season.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 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
  4. "History – Norfolk Botanical Garden" . Retrieved November 11, 2019.