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| Even the cobwebs were shivering! Fortunately this was outside the glasshouse... |
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| Frosty but lovely! |
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| And into the glasshouse we go... |
Within the glasshouse is a 'tropical humid' section and it is there where the butterflies can be found freely flying amongst the plants. I was a bit hesitant at first, going to the first day of this seasonal attraction, worried that the crowd would be so large and overwhelming that we wouldn't enjoy the place. To a certain extent that was the case with a queue forming to go inside the tropical humid section which it took us awhile to actually get in but fortunately the wait was far from boring as we were surrounded by beautiful plants and the slow movement gave us ample of opportunity to take photographs of the specimens (which we will feature on a separate post).
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| A queue, how British! |
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| Inside the 'tropical humid' section... |
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| Xanthosoma (Yellow Leaved form) |
And here they are, just some of the butterflies..
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| Butterflies 'in action'... |
It was a most enjoyable day and was great to see the glasshouse again, and of course the butterflies! A day out like this was just what we needed, feeling refreshed we spent the next day doing a few more bits towards our project.
Looking forward to visiting again, perhaps in the spring and/or summer, time permitting. The butterflies may not be there by then but there's plenty more to explore at Wisley, both inside and outside the glasshouse.
Mark
RHS Wisley: Butterflies in the glasshouse
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
Fabulous pictures! I'm going tomorrow, with a bit of luck.
ReplyDeleteMark - great butterfly photos. Even in a glasshouse, they don't like to sit still for long. Love the broms in flower too.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in England I'd be there all the time, for the warmth if nothing else.
Fantastic photos. Can't believe how many people were crowded in there. They must have needed a day of being refreshed also. The butterflies are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Lovely pictures. I need to learn how to garden like these greenhouse gardeners. I struggle to keep my indoor plants alive and not infected with aphids. Does the place breed those butterflies?
ReplyDeleteOutstanding! These are definitely not your typical butterflies! And the plants, wow.
ReplyDeleteMark and Gaz, thanks for sharing pictures of your visit to Wisley. That is one garden that is on the top of my "must see"-list. So nice to get a preview through you :-)! The glasshouses are already pretty (architecturally) from the outside, and I love your shots of the tropical plants, but of course, the butterflies are the stars of this post! It is so fascinating in how many forms and colors they come. My favorite is the one on the last picture. What a dark, mysterious beauty.
ReplyDeleteChristina
What a wonderful winter excursion! It must have made you feel like you had been whisked away to a tropical paradise.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of all the glass conservatories and botanical gardens in europe. It seems there's one set up in every major city. How civilized. There is no better place in the winter then a glass greenhouse set up to be tropical paradise.
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria, hope you had a nice time and looking forward to your pics!
ReplyDeleteHi Missy, you'd love it :) Fortunately there's a good few glasshouses to choose from. Kew also does butterflies in their glasshouses but in the summer instead.
Cher, it was a good excuse for a day out :) Children love butterflies hence lots of families in he crowd.
Hi KL, I don't think they breed them but rather they buy the pupaes from specialist breeders. Once the duration of the attraction is through then they remove the caterpillars (which will damage the plants) so the cycle of life doesn't continue there. It's easy to get pupaes here :)
Ahh Gerhard, I know you like your glasshouses! :)
Christina, you'd love the glasshouse and the rest of the grounds at Wisley, plenty of interest :)
Hi Holley, for a moment yes it felt like we were in a tropical paradise. They you go out and feel the chill, brrrr...
Hi Nat, fortunately there's plenty to choose from within Europe. In UK alone there are so many we have yet to see in person. Lots of gardening enthusiasts here :)
Wow, that's amazing. How come I don't get to have as many days out as you two? I'm going to have words with 'im indoors!
ReplyDeleteD
I guess I wouldn't mind the queuing. Truly paradise even for those who have created alternative eden.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour! Just found your website and look forward to following your adventures!:)
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, those are real lovely tropical corners, i bet you miss home more. That taro is just like the taro i've been uprooting for two years now scattered in our property. I wish to eradicate them to minimize mosquitoes. It is very difficult to vanish as even a very small part will eventually grow when the rains come. Those butterflies are also what i see here, i wonder if my friend entomologist is responsible for shifting those pupa to that conservatory!
ReplyDeleteDavid, you will have to persuade 'im to have more days out!
ReplyDeleteAlistair, the queue was not that bad, especially as we were surrounded by atractive plants the whole time. We must compose a blog about the rest of our visit!
Rohrerbot, glad you found us, and hope you enjoy following!
Andrea, where ever people create a garden, we all tend to wish to grow something from another region. All part of the challenge! Perhaps your friend was involved? There was a display section about where the butterflies had come from, although it was rather crowded so we skipped that part!