Romance is in the Air!

If you notice a great deal of thrashing around in the lakes and lagoons at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, fear not.  It is simply the harmless Northern Water Snake, Natrix sipedon dipedon, in the throws of infatuation.  (Virginia’s only poisonous watersnake, the Eastern Cottonmouth, is found only in the extreme southeastern corner of the state.)

The garden is home to a number of harmless snakes, including the beneficial blacksnake, whose diet consists mainly of rodents.  Of the 35 species and subspecies of snakes in Virginia only 3 are poisonous.  Poisonous snakes can be identified by a vertical pupil; non-poisonous snakes have a round pupil.

The harmless Northern Water Snake is one of the more unique creatures you may catch a glimpse of here at Lewis Ginter. Did you know, for instance, that the female Northern Water Snake is about three times the size of her male counterpart?  The unfortunate fact is the harmless Northern Water Snake looks very similar to a Copperhead or a Cottonmouth Snake.  This is one of the main reasons we have a “snake sign” — an interpretive sign in the Garden to let the public know that we do not harbor dangerous creatures and also to educate about the beneficial role that snakes do play in our gardens here as well as in the bigger world beyond.

Snakes are an important part of the ecosystem, as they keep our rodent populations down. Other important creatures part of the big picture that live here along with our plants are many different species of birds of prey, lots of songbirds, the fish, turtles, lizards, and yes, the rodents.  So please keep an open mind when visiting our lovely botanical gardens and know that we have a thriving ecosystem which is carefully managed.  You may glimpse more than just the plants!  If you just can’t stomach snakes though, do keep in mind that they are normally very camouflaged and hidden from view—we keep our signs up in the garden to inform & educate the public, never knowing when they might make an appearance. 

Laura S. Henley is a horticulturist at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Don’t forget to mention that the Northern Water Snake’s bite has an anticoagulant trait.

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