Fluttering Flowers
Butterflies and flowers naturally go together, the latter tethered to the earth, and the former free to flit, bringing both color and motion to a garden.
Many conservatories host butterfly exhibits. Some are seasonal, others are year-round. Here are some to look for when you’re on the road:
If you’re changing planes in Singapore, you can stop by the Butterfly Garden in the Departure Transit Lounge on Levels 2 and 3 of Terminal 3 Departure Transit Lounge, Level 2 & 3at Changi Airport.
Butterflies flit year round in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Fjärilshuset in Hagapark.
“Butterfly Forest” is in flight at Phipps Conservatory, 700 Frank Curto Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now through September 1, 2014. Look out for yellow and black striped zebra longwings, orange and black western Pennsylvania monarchs and many other species as you explore the glasshouse environs of the Stove Room.
A Butterfly Kaleidoscope flits around the Hilbert Conservatory in White River Gardens at the Indianapolis Zoo, 1200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana through September 2, 2014.
The Karner Blue Butterfly Festival in downtown Black River Falls, Wisconsin, July 19, 2014, celebrates the endangered Karner Blue butterfly, which is indigenous to the Black River Falls area.
The Festival of Butterflies takes place two weekends in August at Powell Gardens 1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, Missouri. This year’s dates are August 1 through 3 and 8 through 10, 2014.
A Butterfly Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. August 9, 2014, at the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, New Jersey.
A Monarch Butterfly Festival is set for 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. September 14, 2014, at the Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens, Palos Heights, Illinois.
The 19th annual Texas Butterfly Festival takes place November 1 through 4, 2014, at the National Butterfly Center, 3333 Butterfly Park Drive, Mission, Texas.
(Photo courtesy of Phipps Conservatory)
What an interesting post! I hope the Monarch Butterfly Festival is more successful than ours was recently in Toronto. Prior to this year, there would be thousands of Monarchs whereas this year there were none. Nada. I had heard that the population of Monarch butterflies has collapsed and really hope that’s not true. But based on what we experienced here in Toronto it does look dire. Fingers crossed that they just rerouted their migratory pattern and you’ll see many in Illinois.
We’ve been to a few butterfly gardens over the years and, in our current travels, have visited one in Honduras and another in Nicaragua. I love your title of “fluttering flowers” because that’s so descriptive of the experience of being surrounded by these magical creatures and seeing a little bit of their world!