Posted by David Hamilton on July 14th, 2009

One of the wonderful features of Bundoran Farm is the breadth of experience available within an easy day trip. Mountains to the west, world class museums to the northeast, and of course that’s after you exhaust Charlottesville and UVA, which will take a while.

Though not strictly related to Bundoran Farm, or to the mission of the Baldwin Center, I strongly encourage anyone with interest in the natural world to visit “Butterflies LIVE,” an exhibit on view until October 11th at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, in Richmond.

First of all, a membership in the Ginter garden is a great idea for anybody in Cville, even a horticultural novice like me. It’s in Richmond, and you could drive by it about fifty times without knowing it’s there, but behind the berms and hedges is an apparently autonomous world of 1,800 rosebushes, japanese gardens, and a metal and lapped-glass greenhouse that’s guaranteed to surprise you. It’s the size of a Baptist church.

The temporary Butterfly exhibit is absolute genius. A wing of the aforementioned greenhouse has been planted with lepidoptera-sustaining plants, and filled with 25 or so species of exotic butterfly. So exotic that the staff monitors an airlock, letting people in and out two at a time, so nobody carries a stowaway out on their shoulder. The butterflies range from huge “banded owls” to incredibly delicate species with bright color and intricate pattern. The presence of so many butterflies, in constant motion (trays of sliced fruit are laid out to attract them to good viewing locations), is a powerful effect, redefining the phrase “living room.”

If you have a child or grandchild, they will flip over this. You will too. The exhibit is open daily until October 11th, details at: http://www.lewisginter.org/adult-education/25thAnniversary.php

Filed under: Agriculture, Education and Inspiration, General, Nature/Environment