Butterflies in the Garden - Fort Worth - 2016

The butterflies are back! Their second week has begun at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and they will be there through Sunday, April 3, 2016. Exotic butterflies are hatched out and released into the rain forest conservatory for visitors to view as they stroll along the pathways. Butterflies in the Garden comes to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens every other year so if you don't get by before they are gone, you won't be able to see them again until 2018. If you don't live close enough to visit this exhibit check with your local botanic garden to see if they have this or a similar one on their calendar.

What can you expect to see? You will see a wide variety of exotic butterflies from South America. There are a variety of colors and sizes. You will see butterflies, large and small, perching on foliage, drinking nectar from flowers and eating from feeding stations. You need to watch your feet so you don't step on any that land on the path. But don't look down all the time because there will be butterflies flying past and above you. They often travel in groups. It's ok if they land on you, just don't walk out with them. It is also ok to bring your camera but don't bring in any snacks and drinks.

Eclectic Design Choices at Art in the Garden

Art in the Garden is a fundraiser for the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It is held around the FWADA's Fall Gallery Night each year. According to the Botanic Gardens' website you will find "over 60 different artists displaying oils, watercolors, sculpture, photography and jewelry." This year Art in the Garden will be Friday, September 11 from noon to 7 pm, Saturday, September 12 from 9 am to 8 pm and Sunday, September 13 from noon to 4 pm, with a wine and cheese reception during Fall Gallery Night, on Saturday, September 12. Artwork will be displayed in the halls of the Garden Center.

I'm pleased to report that I will be one of the 60 or so artists whose work will be on display this year. Two of my gallery wrapped photographic art prints were accepted. All displayed works are for sale and a portion of each sale will help fund the Botanic Gardens. If you have a chance to check out Art in the Garden you will have the opportunity to see some wonderful works of art and if one of them speaks to you enough to purchase it, you will be helping out a good cause.

If you visit Art in the Garden on Fall Gallery Night you will be close to several other venues with great artwork to view. Adjacent to the shared parking lot with the Botanic Gardens is BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) with the Best of Texas Clay Exhibit plus a pop-up gallery by the Fort Worth Art Collective for Gallery Night. Other participating venues can be found in the FWADA's Fall Gallery Night catalog.

Update 9/14/15:

I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the Art in the Garden reception. My Bald Mountain Series "Rock Ridge - Color received a second place ribbon in the photography category.

Art in the Garden and Fall Gallery Night

Art in the Garden is a fundraiser for the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It is held around the FWADA's Fall Gallery Night each year. According to the Botanic Gardens' website you will find "over 60 different artists displaying oils, watercolors, sculpture, photography and jewelry." This year Art in the Garden will be Friday, September 5 from noon to 7 pm, September 6 from 9 am to 8 pm and September 7 from noon to 4 pm, with a wine and cheese reception during Fall Gallery Night, on Saturday, September 6. Artwork will be displayed in the halls of the Garden Center.

I'm pleased to report that I will be one of the 60 or so artists whose work will be on display this year. Two of my gallery wrapped photographic art prints were accepted. All displayed works are for sale and a portion of each sale will help fund the Botanic Gardens. If you have a chance to check out Art in the Garden you will have the opportunity to see some wonderful works of art and if one of them speaks to you enough to purchase it, you will be helping out a good cause.

If you visit Art in the Garden on Fall Gallery Night you will be close to several other venues with great artwork to view. Adjacent to the shared parking lot with the Botanic Gardens is BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) with the works of Billy Hassell. Other participating venues can be found in the FWADA's Fall Gallery Night catalog.

Celebrate the Spring Equinox

It is almost officially springtime. The long awaited for Spring Equinox is almost here. (It has been a long, roller coaster of a winter this year. I can’t wait for spring to come to stay.) Spring officially arrives just before noon, March 20, 2014 in the DFW Metroplex (CDT). When I think of spring I think of returning flowers and butterflies. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden offers plenty of opportunities to see flowers and bountiful butterflies.

The grounds of the Botanic Gardens has plenty of fabulous flowers. In addition, this year the “Butterflies in the Garden” exhibit has returned. This exhibit is currently open daily from 10am to 4pm through April 6th. Many tropical butterfly species fill the conservatory. You will find them flitting through the air, perching on flowers or just hanging out on the greenery. I have included a couple of the many photos that I took during my visit last week.

If you don’t live close enough to take advantage of this wonderful exhibit, check with your local arboretum or natural history museum to see if they know if and when a similar exhibit is scheduled to come to your area. Many different opportunities may await you in your community. In addition, if you plant and create other habitat for butterflies in your garden you can enjoy your local butterfly community throughout the growing season.

So, take a moment and check out your local butterfly watching prospects. You’ll be glad you took the time to view these jewels of the air.

Butterfly Watching

Have you seen them yet? Butterflies that is, fluttering around your garden. While I haven’t seen a large number of individuals yet, I have seen a good number of types of butterflies and moths fluttering around or on my plants. The images in this post are of a salt marsh moth, Estigmene acrea, that seemed to show up from nowhere just after emerging from its cocoon. (After reading about its pupal stage, I think it most likely emerged from the leaf litter at the base of the wall and crawled up the wall a bit to a sunny spot to “stretch its wings”. It was fascinating to watch its wings expand and become ready for flight over the next couple of hours.

You may be lucky enough to see something similar at the Butterflies in the Garden exhibit at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. They usually have a butterfly hatching area. The butterflies that you will find at the exhibit are all tropical varieties. They are a lot of fun to watch flying around the conservatory. Sometimes they even land on visitors. This exhibit will be in Fort Worth through April 8, 2012 and you can find out more information on the Botanic Gardens website.

You can usually find information about out how to attract butterflies to your garden at this exhibit that comes to the Botanic Gardens every other year. One way to encourage butterflies to come to your garden for you to watch is to plant nectar plants for the adult butterflies. I will have some good butterfly nectar plants available for sale at the Downtown Arlington Farmers Market on Saturday, March 31 from 8 am to 1 pm. There will also be short gardening talks at the Market that day on a variety of topics as part of the Smart Yard Symposium. If you are in the area, come out and say hi. Contact me if you want an on site evaluation of how to attract more butterflies to your garden.