Getting Ready for Butterflies

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Staff member Richard Kmetz putting the finishing touches on the vestibule in the North Wing of the Conservatory.

Guess what!?!  Here at Lewis Ginter we are counting down the days ’til Butterflies LIVE!   In fact, it starts less than 2 weeks from today!  Chrysalides are already arriving at the Conservatory and we are setting them up in our emergence room.

What’s new this year? We will release new butterflies each and every day at 10 a.m.  — and on Saturdays we’ll have two releases — with a second one at 2 p.m. Also this year we’ll have a butterfly nursery — a special wooden box that you can peer into and see butterflies emerging from their chrysalids.

And we will be featuring lots and lots of exotic butterfly-friendly plants!   Here are few of my favorites, I’ve chosen them because they are so beautiful. But the truth is the butterfly curators chose them for their nectar value.  These beauties will be feeding the butterflies!  Can’t wait to see you on May 24th.

Cat’s whiskers plant aka Orthosiphon stamineus will be making an appearance at Butterflies LIVE! Who knew Butterflies love cat’s whiskers!

Red shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeana) another big draw for butterflies!

Clerodendrum thomsoniae, bleeding heart vine, is showy & butterflies like to too!