Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Grace Arents

Grace Arents

Grace Arents is the niece of Virginia entrepreneur and philanthropist Lewis Ginter. When Ginter died in 1897 a large portion of his estate, as well as his interest in philanthropy and horticulture, was inherited by his niece, Grace Arents.

Small of stature, with thick glasses and a gentle but determined nature, Miss Grace, as she was called, devoted her life to philanthropy. She gave generously to many causes and institutions but is known especially for her contributions to and associations with St. Andrew’s Church and the Arents Free Library. The children of Oregon Hill were another special concern, and in 1913, she conceived the idea of a convalescent home in the country for sick infants who might benefit from the fresh air.

To realize her dream, Miss Arents purchased the abandoned Lakeside Wheel Clubhouse and its approximately 10 acres (40,000 m2) from the Lewis Ginter Land and Improvement Company. The structure was remodeled in the Dutch colonial style and named Bloemendaal Farm after a small village in the Netherlands which was the Ginter ancestral home. The translated name means “flower valley.” The roof was raised to provide a second floor of bedrooms, a classroom, a library and a playroom for the sick children.

Later Miss Arents was instrumental in forming the Instructive Visiting Nurses Association, which ended the need to care for children at Bloemendaal Farm. She gave up her house on Franklin Street that she had inherited from Major Ginter and moved to Bloemendaal Farm, taking with her a companion, Mary Garland Smith, a teacher at St. Andrew’s School.

During the last decade of her life Miss Arents traveled extensively in Europe, and her trip diaries describe the joy she derived from her visits to continental botanical gardens. Her interest in horticulture, already strong, was heightened by her travels and found abundant expression at Bloemendaal Farm.

She imported collections of rare trees and shrubs, constructed a series of three ridge and furrow greenhouses and laid out a border of herbaceous perennials along the side of the greenhouse range. Her great love of roses is evident in the photographs of Bloemendaal Farm taken in the 1920s. This garden, adjacent to the Bloemendaal House, exists today as the Grace Arents Garden. The immense ginkgo on the front lawn, the massive American hollies and the southern magnolias were planted by Miss Arents.

Over the years, Miss Grace added piecemeal to the original area. Thus, she reunited some of the land that had belonged to the Powhatans, Patrick Henry, the Williamsons, John Robinson and others, and Bloemendaal Farm became widely known as a model for the best agricultural practices of the day.

Grace Arents died suddenly and unexpectedly on June 20, 1926, at the age of 78. In her obituary, it was noted that “Friends of Miss Arents indicated that they had never known her to refuse an appeal for funds for any cause in the interest of social uplift or community betterment.”

I do give, devise, and bequeath my farm in Henrico County, known as Bloemendaal Farm with the dwelling house and all buildings… to the City of Richmond… as a botanical garden and public park in perpetual memory of my Uncle Lewis Ginter to be known as Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Thus Grace Arents, in her will, honored her beloved uncle. Like her uncle, she was a visionary and regarded wealth as a trust rather than a means of self-gratification. The contributions they made to their adopted cities are beyond measure.