2020 55¢ American Gardens:  Norfolk Botanical Garden

Value:  55¢ 1-ounce First-class rate (Forever)

Issue Date:  May 13, 2020

First Day City:  Winterthur, DE

Type of Stamp:  Commemorative

Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America

Printing Method:  Offset

Format:  Pane of 20

Self-Adhesive

Quantity Printed:  50,000,000

The Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a 158-acre botanical garden and arboretum in Norfolk, Virginia.  It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

The idea for the Norfolk Botanical Gardens emerged in 1938 when city manager Thomas P. Thompson and horticulturalist Frederic Heutte were given 150 acres of land to create a city garden.  The Works Progress Administration grant employed 220 people to clear the site, and by 1939, 4,000 azaleas, 2,000 rhododendrons, 100 bushels of daffodils, and thousands of shrubs and trees had been planted.  A second grant was soon issued, and the garden was expanded to make room for even more species.

In 1958, the Norfolk Botanical Garden received its official name.  It was also around this time that many specialty gardens were being constructed.  Today, there are over a dozen of these for visitors to explore including healing, rose, butterfly, colonial herb, conifer, four seasons, fragrance, camellia, Japanese, hydrangea, renaissance, and rhododendron gardens.  There is also Mirror Lake, Statuary Vista, NATO Overlook, and several other points of interest. With so many different flowers and trees to see, there is something at Norfolk Botanical Gardens for every visitor to enjoy.