Places: South Seas Island Resort Butterfly Garden

Just back from Spring Break with my family in Captiva Island, Florida. What a beautiful place... aqua water, white sand beaches laden with shells, and fresh seafood. Needless to say, it was so hard to leave!

Gulf of Mexico

As part of South Seas' ScoutAbout program, they have a colorful butterfly garden. The weather was cool by South Florida standards, so I didn't see many butterflies flying about. However, the garden was lush and full of blooms.

Tropical Milkweed, Giant Milkweed, Daisies, Lantana, Pentas, Firespike, Salvia, Clusia

I find the Tropical Milkweed more dramatic en masse...

More Tropical Milkweed

Short milkweed in front & tall milkweed towards the back

Each ScoutAbout Point of Discovery provides educational information about local flora and wildlife. My children really enjoyed exploring the resort in search of these and collecting bracelets along the way. It was a big adventure!

Mini Butterfly Garden Valentine's Day Gift

How about this mini butterfly garden for Valentine's Day? I spotted it at Whole Foods and it's filled with parsley, dill, and fennel. These are all host plants for the Black Swallowtail butterfly. XOXO!

Butterfly Life Cycle Models

Sometimes I give talks in our community about butterfly gardening. I especially love talking to children about the life cycle of butterflies. They are always so curious and eager to learn about "bugs." I found this fun teaching tool for my next presentation at the Butterfly Rainforest's gift shop.

I always try to bring live caterpillars to my presentations but occasionally they are still too small or just not available. These models will will be fun for the children to touch and explore!  You can find them online here.

Monarch Butterflies Booklet

I picked up this great booklet, Monarch Butterflies, at our recent trip to the Butterfly Rainforest. It is very informative and so pretty to look at! One side provides lots of information about Monarchs and the importance of milkweeds. I especially like how they highlight Florida's native milkweeds. The other side has many photos of caterpillars and their respective host plants.

This is so great... you can download your copy here (side 1) and here (side 2)! Enjoy!

The Owl Butterfly

We saw one of my favorite butterflies, the Owl Butterfly, during our recent visit to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Rainforest. It is a large butterfly that grows up to 8 inches and has huge eye spots resembling owls' eyes on its wings.  It is native to Central and South America.

Owl Butterfly by Greaterumbrage via Flickr

I learned some new facts about these butterflies from the lepidopterist at the butterfly rainforest.  There were many Blue Morpho butterflies flying about and the underside of their wings looks quite similar to the Owl Butterfly. The difference is the Owl Butterfly has one "eye" while the Blue Morpho has several "eyes." 

Blue Morpho by Armando Maynez via Flickr

Another fact I learned is there are nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular butterflies. The Owl Butterfly is crepuscular, meaning it is most active during twilight. Now there is an SAT word for you!

Places: Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Rainforest

I have visited many butterfly gardens and my all time favorite is one not too far from our home. It is the Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, Florida. We lived in Gainesville for several years while my husband and I worked at the university there. This garden was and still is one of my favorite places. We took a trip up there this weekend...

Entrance to the Butterfly Rainforest

Lush vegetation, water features, koi, turtles, birds, and LOTS of butterflies!

The Butterfly Rainforest has an amazing variety and number (1000) of butterflies!

My little guy "reading" the butterfly and plant identification guide (yes, it is upside down!)

Blue Morpho

Nymph, Tree in Pentas

Nymph, Tree

This one was tough to identify, maybe a Tiger-Mimic, Queen? 

Malachite -one of my favorites!

Butterfly Feeding Station

Beautiful Bromeliads

More Bromeliads

Angel Trumpet

Butterfly releases everyday

You can watch the lepidopterists care for the chrysalises and butterflies in this laboratory.

Families: I saw a sign stating that students who receive an 'A' or 'E' (i'm assuming 'E' means excellent?) grade in science can receive free admission (with the purchase of a paid adult admission). Just show your most recent report card!

Gifts for the Gardener

Have you started your holiday shopping? Here are my picks for the gardener on your list...

Felco F-4 Pruner, A classic that will last forever.

Hunter Gardener Boot, The best and most stylish wellies.

Sunday Afternoons Sport Hat, Love the flap and washes easily.

Floral Bypass Shear, Perfect for trimming flowers for your vase.

Rifle Paper Company 2013 Garden Calendar, By local artist Anna Bond.

Chalkboard Wall Planter, What a great space saver!

OXO Watering Can, Great design, durable, and easy to carry.

Vintage Butterfly Prints, I want to frame a collection of these for my foyer!

Local friends - please let me know if you would like to know where you can pick up some of these gifts up nearby! Have fun!