Making Connections in the Garden

I've been plugging away at finishing my book project on black and white flower images and grabbed this bunch of Scabiosa --- a nectar-rich, rough and floppy flower that is a favorite of butterflies. I'm pleased with the image even though when I first picked them up I thought they looked a little "rode hard & put up wet".

Of course I didn't make the connection between the blooming of these flowers and the beginning of Butterfly season ( I didn't even really think about butterflies having seasons... but then again, this is all turning out to be a great learning process for me...). A friend of mine and I took a little road trip to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens late last week and discovered that it is indeed time for butterflies to crawl out of their casings to show the world their transformation.

In order to prepare for the event, Something's A-Flutter, the people at DSBG have several glass cases in the Orchid Conservatory full of butterfly chrysalides. At first I thought they were bits of jewelry, especially since the chrysalis of the Monarch butterfly looks like jade.

I've never seen a butterfly straight out of the chrysalis. Instead of the flitty, flighty insect I'm used to seeing, I witnessed creatures that seemed exhausted and crumpled as they had not yet been able to pump their wings into flight mode. It was a little sad.

I'm getting to take my Intro to DSLR class to the gardens tomorrow. I hope the butterflies are a little more ready for the world, but even if they aren't, I can't wait to see my students discover them...