VIRGINIA BOTANICAL GARDENS ABLOOM FOR TOUR GROUPS

Springtime is blossoming at Virginia gardens and arboretums, offering radiant horticultural displays and year-round outdoor group activities

By Heather Dale

Virginia botanical gardens provide expansive greenspaces for group gatherings and school field trips, perfect for a naturally unique experience. Learn about horticulture and conservation through diverse flowers, cacti, shrubs and trees on your group garden tour.

History is blooming at the Gunston Hall Riverside Garden Restoration in Mason Neck, Virginia. Considered

The Home of American Rights, George Mason’s exquisite estate welcomes groups to tour the historic Virginia garden and grounds.

The Riverside Garden Restoration combines history and horticulture to create a vintage Virginia botanical garden designed with fruit trees, historical plants and perennials to reflect the 18th century period.

This Virginia garden offers a Gardens Pass for self-guided tours of the flourishing grounds. General admission covers access to the museum, the Mason grounds, and a guided tour of the mansion for an especially spectacular view of the Riverside Garden Restoration.

Stop into the Gunston Hall Museum Shop on your way out and peruse artisanal souvenirs, local artwork, exhibit merchandise and plant-themed gifts.

Education and research-driven, The National Botanic Garden in Chantilly is a unique 250-acre Virginia botanical garden constructed of mostly reclaimed materials. Rocky waterfalls and gorgeous vegetation fill the Kyoto Sculpture Gardens, which can be booked for private events of up to 100 people. Although not yet open to the public, they will offer several indoor and outdoor spaces for group gatherings. Private bookings for group tours will be available.

Island-hop through the 50-island bamboo maze at the lake or take a family photo at the impressive mountain overlook area. The beautifully manicured landscape also showcases an arboretum, expansive views and five miles of lake coastline teeming with waterfowl and other native species.

The botanical garden also boasts the Stone Barn, which can accommodate groups of up to 250 people in a charming and rustic setting. See the most extensive water-wise garden on the East Coast at the Xenic Gardens. This desert botanical garden features glorious cactus blooms and an array of unusual spikey specimens.

At the Norfolk Botanical Garden explore 175 acres of extraordinary plant species among new innovative surroundings. The mission of this Virginia garden is to connect people with nature and bring awareness to conservation efforts.

Tour the 26,000-square-foot Perry Conservatory with four separate biomes. Groups can discover plant life from the rainforest to the desert in a space dedicated to housing some of the world’s most endangered plant species. Take the elevated skywalk for an aerial photo op of one of the most extensive rose gardens in the East.

Slated to open in 2024, The Garden of Tomorrow will welcome guests with a new entry pavilion and parking garden. The unique parking garden sets the standard for sustainability with new pervious pavement. The 26,000-square-foot conservatory will focus on conservation, including some of the world’s most threatened plants. Sitting along the waterfront near the new entrance, the garden is both an education center and rowing events hub.

The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond features a whopping eight vibrantly one-off gardens, two arbor walks, an Asian Valley and a classical glass-domed conservatory unlike any in the eastern U.S.

World-class flowering displays welcome visitors, and themed gardens amaze groups with dynamic plant collections bursting with color. Grab a bite with your group at the Garden Café and pick out a few souvenirs at the oneof-a-kind Garden Shop before you leave.

This spectacular Virginia botanical garden boasts a children’s group tour and an adults group tour for an exceptional and engaging time.

At the center of the 172-acre Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce stands the Virginia State Arboretum. Groups are invited to freely roam the diverse forestry, where you’ll feel transported to faraway lands.

In this Virginia garden, witness the brilliant yellow display of some 300 Ginko trees every fall. Immerse in the lush greenery through the Conifer Forest, the largest of its kind in the Southeast. Many of the labeled tree and shrub collections date back to