Ants in My Pants at Maymont's Garden Glow

Last year I had regretted not attending Maymont’s Garden Glow, so when I heard of its return this year I knew I had to attend.

Maymont, a 100-acre Victorian estate transformed into a public park in Richmond, Va, is a place I often spend my time. I enjoy walking through its lush gardens and seeing the vast array of animals in its various wildlife exhibits. Its winding paths are lined with towering trees and trickling streams and its vast green spaces provide a peaceful place to hang out. Maymont’s well-maintained expansive space offers a tranquil and explorative experience. It's sometimes hard to believe that this incredible place is free and located within Richmond’s city limits. Maymont is another example of all the wonderful and surprising places you can find in Richmond.

While Maymont typically closes before nightfall, Maymont’s Garden Glow begins after sunset, allowing visitors a special chance to experience its property under the night sky. Eager to do so, my boyfriend, Leo, and I headed over to Garden Glow on its opening weekend. We weren’t the only people with the same idea. When we arrived at Maymont, its grounds were filled with people and buzzing with life.

We were welcomed with an array of dazzling lights, food trucks, and fire pits surrounded by seating. Feeling hungry, we went to grab some food from one of the food trucks. We decided on Chicken Sandwiches. Leo and I both ordered the “Texas Beach” sandwich, named after one of our favorite spots along Richmond’s James River. The sandwich included fried chicken, pickled red onions, lettuce, pickles, and chipotle mayo. When the order was ready we grabbed it from the truck and headed over to a bench nestled next to a fire pit. While we ate, we watched people make s'mores and listened to the crackling of the fire. Lights flashed in front of our eyes and children ran around us.

When we finished our food Leo and I grabbed a hot apple cider and went to go explore the gardens. Arriving at the garden’s entrance, we walked through vibrant, flashing archways and then weaved our way down the hill into Maymont’s Japanese Garden. At the foot of the hill, Leo and I walked through colorful lanterns hung upon the trees in a zigzag pattern. The lanterns led us towards the edge of the garden’s pond. The trees surrounding the pond were illuminated with changing colors that transitioned between vibrant yellows, pinks, purples, blues, and oranges. The trees reflected crisply upon the dark, glassy pond, producing a surreal visual. We began exploring the winding path alongside the pond. Everywhere we looked we could see colorful, illuminating lights integrated among the landscape. When Leo and I got further down the path we stopped and looked back out upon the water. We could now see the lanterns shining through the trees and their crystal-clear reflection upon the water. While soaking in the beauty, I felt a sharp, painful bite on my leg. “Ouch!” I shouted. My whole leg began to tingle and itch. “What was that?!” I exclaimed. I then felt another bite. With wide eyes, I looked at Leo and said, “Something is crawling in my pants.” Feeling squeamish I stammered, “This is super beautiful and all but my whole leg is burning.”

“What! That's not good. Should we go home?” Leo asked. The part of me wanting to stay and explore more let out a hesitant shrug, but I came to my senses and agreed that we probably should go home and get this situated.

We made our way around the rest of the pond and began quickly climbing up the steep weaving steps towards Maymont’s Italian Garden and exit. Each step was illuminated with glowing lights, guiding us as we went. When we arrived at the top I glanced out at the treetops below. I could see the colorful lights from the Japanese Garden peering through the treetops. Remembering my throbbing, stinging leg, I grudgingly looked away and walked through the Italian Garden’s glowing lights towards the exit. I continued to feel more bites and intense stinging, so we rushed to the car. I leapt into the car and frantically pulled up my pant leg. I shined my phone flashlight at my leg and suddenly saw a black ant crawling across my leg. I screeched loudly and swept it off my leg. Alarming Leo, he turned to me and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I saw a bug in my pants! Look at these bites!” I exclaimed. Leo comforted me and then quickly drove us home so I could shower and put on new, bug-less pants.

While I was happy to be in bug-less pants, I wished I could’ve stayed longer to explore more of Maymont’s stunning Garden Glow. Leo and I both agreed we would have to make our way back. While the experience was cut short by a peculiar event, Maymont’s Garden Glow exceeded our expectations and I am looking forward to returning.