BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Norfolk -- Norfolk Botanical Garden

VA -- Norfolk -- Norfolk Botanical Garden:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NBG_150531_012.JPG: Perennial Garden Then and Now 1960 Created in 1960, the three acre "Tidewater Garden" (later called Tidewater Circle) was created to exhibit plans best adaptable to the Tidewater region of Virginia. A variety of annuals, perennials and shrubs (including a major rose display) grew here. In 1995, the garden underwent a major redesign, renovation and renaming to become the Sarah Lee Baker Perennial Garden.
2. NBG_150531_066.JPG: Photo guides
3. NBG_150531_243.JPG: Renaissance Court Then and Now ca. 1958 This location was originally the site for a WWII airplane machine-gun firing range. In 1954, it was transformed into the Azalea Festival Court for the International Azalea Festival. For years following, a new Azalea Queen was crowned here every spring. In 1984-1985, the permanent benches and bleachers were removed, then raised terraces with balustrades and sculptures were added to become Renaissance Court.
4. NBG_150531_268.JPG: Bald Eagle by William H. Turner 1995
5. NBG_150531_308.JPG: Welcome to the Hofheimer Camellia Garden
6. NBG_150531_320.JPG: A Works Progress Administration Project: On June 30, 1938, Representative Norman R. Hamilton announced a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant of $76,278 for the Azalea Garden project. Since most of the male labor force was at work with other projects for the city, a group of more than 200 African-American women and 20 African-American men were assigned to the Azalea Garden project. With legs wrapped in cotton to protect against mosquitoes and snake bites, the labor crew cleared dense vegetation and carried the equivalent of 150 truck laods of dirt by hand to build a levee for the lake. The laborers were paid twenty-five cents an hour for their hard work. Within a year, a 25-acre section had been cleared and readied for planting. By March of 1939, 4,000 azaleas, 2,000 rhododendrons, several thousand miscellaneous shrubs and trees and 100 bushels of daffodils had been planted.
7. NBG_150531_337.JPG: Breaking Ground Sculptor Kathleen Farrell Dedicated April 29, 2009 "If some could see the beauty today... It was worth it all, they would surely say."
8. NBG_150531_344.JPG: The Gift by Craig Mitchell Smith
9. NBG_150531_364.JPG: Azaleas of Mirror Lake
10. NBG_150531_373.JPG: The Azalea Gardens: Established in 1938, the Azalea Gardens (later called Norfolk Municipal Gardens) eventually covered 100 acres and was circular in shape. The main entrance of the garden was across from the original airport terminal and shared parking with the airport. Additional parking areas and entrances were located along the road that circled the garden. A series of trails crisscrossed the garden and featured a variety of trees of shrubs in a woodland setting. The area around Mirror Lake is the only remaining portion of the original Azalea Gardens.
11. NBG_150531_380.JPG: Our Neighbor The Airport: Norfolk Botanical Garden's only land neighbor is Norfolk International Airport. These photographs show the proximity of the airport to the Garden and how their boundaries have changed over time. In 1971, the airport underwent a reconfiguration and an expansion. More than 50 acres of the original Azalea Gardens land was transferred to the airport to accommodate a new terminal. Many of the azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons in this area were transplanted to a part of the Garden now called Enchanted Forest. The area around Mirror Lake was modified slightly, but many of the original plantings remained.
12. NBG_150531_392.JPG: The image above shows the airport today with Azalea Gardens features marked. * The entrance of Azalea Gardens was opposite the original airport terminal. * Yellow dashed line marks Route 601, the primary access road for both the airport and Azalea Gardens. * Orange dashed lines mark the major trails through the gardens. * Pink dashed lines mark shoreline of Lake Whitehust and Mirror Lake altered during the 1971 airport expansion. * The current visitor center and WOW Children's Garden can be seen in the upper right.
13. NBG_150531_412.JPG: Azaleas of Mirror Lake
14. NBG_150531_418.JPG: Norfolk Botanical Gardens These gardens were conceived by City Manager Thomas Thompson during the Great Depression. His idea was executed by city gardener Frederic Heutte; noted landscape architect Charles F. Gillette served as a consultant. In 1938 about 200 black women were paid with Works Progress Administration funds to clear and plant the first 25 acres. The first phase of the garden, which now occupy 175 acres and include landscaped vistas, arboretums, and special display areas, were their creation.
15. NBG_150531_421.JPG: Welcome to Mirror Lake: This area is the part of the original Azalea Gardens created through a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant in 1938. As you walk around Mirror Lake today enjoy the beauty created by workers so many years ago.
16. NBG_150531_434.JPG: Statuary Vista Then and Now 1963: Originally created as a "bulb garden" in 1958, this garden was renamed Statuary Vista when the eagle sculpture and six sculptures by Sir Moses Ezekiel were placed here in 1962. Five additional Ezekiel sculptures were added in later years with the last one arriving in 1974.
17. NBG_150531_438.JPG: Phidias
18. NBG_150531_443.JPG: Durer
19. NBG_150531_448.JPG: Rubens
20. NBG_150531_453.JPG: Rembrandt
21. NBG_150531_459.JPG: Murillo
22. NBG_150531_463.JPG: Canova
23. NBG_150531_466.JPG: Da Vinci
24. NBG_150531_471.JPG: Titian
25. NBG_150531_474.JPG: Angelo
26. NBG_150531_477.JPG: Raphael
27. NBG_150531_480.JPG: Crawford
28. NBG_150531_520.JPG: Jim Cunningham
29. NBG_150531_609.JPG: NATO Vista Re-Design In the early 1960s, NBG designed and planted an allee of trees, know [sic] as NATO Vista, composed of Crapemyrtles, Bradford Pears and Norway Maples. The Pyrus calleryana, commonly known as the Bradford Pear tree, has become an invasive species, according to the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation. 55 Bradford Pears have been removed. They are a foreign species that have begun to invade open areas of the Garden and Displace Native trees. The ground debris will be recycled and used as much in the Garden. Learn more about this project by visiting the NBG website norfolkbotanicalgarden.org
30. NBG_150531_651.JPG: In Remembrance of a Special Eagle In 2003 a pair of American Bald Eagles selected the garden as the location to raise a family, and began nesting across the canal from this site. To our delight they returned here annually to hatch and nurture 19 eaglets and teach them to fly. The eagles also taught millions of people around the globe about nature through "eagle cam" internet broadcasts sponsored by Norfolk Botanical Gardens, WVEC-TV and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, with additional assistance from the Center of Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. On April 26th, 2011, the female eagle was killed after colliding with an aircraft while hunting for food for her three newest eaglets. They were relocated to the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro to mature and were released into the wild late July 2011. This plaza, made possible by generous donations from eagle fans world-wide, was established to recognize the female eagle's life and contribution to environmental education.
31. NBG_150531_657.JPG: D.H. Turner (c)2005
32. NBG_150531_685.JPG: NATO Tower Then and Now 1963: NATO Hill was created from some of the 150,000 cubic yards excavated from the canal in 1960. The western slope featured a waterfall cascading over feather-rock from California while the eastern slope was landscaped with formal terraces of polyantha roses. The observation tower at the top, NATO tower, was built in 1961-1962.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Norfolk Botanical Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Norfolk Botanical Garden (155 acres) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia. It is open daily except major holidays; an admission fee is charged.

The gardens date to the mid-1930s, when the city of Norfolk set aside a 75 acres of high, wooded ground plus 75 acres of reservoir for a city garden. In 1938, under a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant, more than 200 African-American women and 20 men cleared the site. By March 1939, some 4,000 azaleas, 2,000 rhododendrons, several thousand miscellaneous shrubs and trees, and 100 bushels of daffodils had been planted. In 1958 the Old Dominion Horticultural Society took over maintenance and changed the garden's name to Norfolk Botanical Garden. A number of gardens were added through the 1950s and 1960s, including a Japanese garden, desert plants garden, colonial garden and rose garden. The Norfolk Botanical Garden, also known as the Norfolk Azalea Garden, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today 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 tulips, daffodils, pansies, as well as azaleas, hibiscus 'Diane', impatiens, petunias, and gomphrena.
* Bristow Butterfly Garden (2 acres) - a habitat for butterflies and moths.
* Colonial Herb Garden - American herb garden of the 1700s and 1800s, hedged with boxwood.
* Conifer Garden - dwarf and large conifers, including arborvitae, cryptomeria, False Cypress, juniper, and spruce.
* 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 wildflower species and 10 species of grasses.
* Fragrance Garden (1963) - fragrance plants, including bayberry, fringetree, lavender, osmanthus, peppermint, wintersweet, 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 Carrara marble by Sir Moses Jacob Ezekiel in Rome, 1879-1884, for William Wilson Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. These statues were originally designed to be set in second-story niches in the Corcoran Gallery, and depict notable artist (Rembrandt, Rubens, Canova, Phidias, Murillo, Durer, DaVinci, 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 Virginia: bald cypress / tupelo swamp; 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.
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