Norfolk Botanical Garden

During a recent trip to the Hampton Roads area, my wife and I decided to visit the Norfolk Botanical Garden for the afternoon. Being this was my first visit even though I lived in the area for nine years, I really didn’t know what to expect. Just let me say that I was very pleased.

The Garden consists of 155 acres and 12 miles of paths so don’t expect to see it all in one go. Especially since there are many hidden jewels throughout the area! There are more than 30 themed areas ranging from their Japanese Garden to the Hofheimer Camellia Garden to the WOW (World of Wonders) Children’s Garden. And be aware that the gardens change with the seasons!

You have different ways of seeing these different areas, too. I would recommend you take the boat trip that journeys through the waterways giving you a general look at the layout of the park with a guide who is both knowledgeable and friendly.

After the boat excursion, take the time and ride the guided land tour that takes you through the interior of the park. This way, you can see a lot of the plantings up close and will help you narrow your focus for later.

Then, you can start out on your own and walk the paths deep into the gardens.

The next time you are in the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area, plan on spending at least a day at this wonderful place.

This entry was posted on 14 September 2009 at 15:53 and is filed under Excursions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.