Anyone who knows me personally knows that when I’m enthused about something I tend to put my all into it and get excited about my latest project. And so this one is no different. I was watching Gardening Australia on Ch2 last Saturday night and one of the segments was about a lady who is a horticulturalist and a photographer. She’s created a butterfly garden at her home and has many species of butterflies there on a regular basis. I was enraptured by the segment and the thought that I could create the same here at home. I’ve always loved watching butterflies and do often photograph them. Another place I like to visit is the Butterfly House at the Melbourne Zoo and I never miss going in there whenever I visit. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that one of my butterfly photos at Flickr.com was chosen to be used for a tourist site a few years ago, to advertise the Butterfly House. I was delighted and gave my permission.
Both photos were taken in the Butterfly House at the Melbourne Zoo.
After watching the episode on TV I began to think about the garden here at home and felt that the strip we have at the bottom of our lawns is probably the ideal place. We’ve already begun filling the two sections with as many bushes and plants as we can over the past year to crowd out the weeds. Investigation on what type of plants I should have for a butterfly garden showed that we already have a good half dozen types towards that goal. All I need to do is get more. Plus put out a couple of flat rocks for the butterflies to sun themselves, as that is a sunny spot in the garden, and make sure there’s some water for them in a shallow dish. I have a great little boy statue that will serve that purpose.
He’s holding a shallow dish.
And so it is that I will begin to document my progress. To that end, I’ve set up a page at Facebook called The Butterfly Garden and I invite you to come like the page and watch my progress. I’ve also set up a group by the same name so that others can share their interest in doing the same and share their pictures in the group.
