 |
| Tropical Vegetation from the Butterfly Garden |
Almost everyone else in the area must have had a similar idea....because that place was BUSY! We parked way out in the boonies, but luckily they have plenty of space! Once we ventured up to the actual building, we waited in quite a long line! The sun was shining and there were things here and there to look at, on top of the people watching, so the waiting wasn't torture. Plus, the line actually moved fairly quickly.
After paying the line took us into a couple of greenhouse rooms where we could view and enjoy some interesting vegetation.
 |
| Butterflies!! |
Then we finally made it to the Butterflies!! This exhibit was recently renamed Fred & Dorothy Fitcher Butterflies Are Blooming to honor a couple who shared so many wonderful memories in the exhibition! Dorothy Fitcher passed away last year and her husband, Fred, made a generous gift to permanently sponsor the exhibit in her memory. What a romantic and fitting tribute!
Here's the first thing we saw!!!
Then a bunch of fluttering throughout the rest of our exploration of the exhibit!!!
We even got a chance to see one of the tropical birds in the exhibit chowing down on some feed!
There were seriously butterflies everywhere! Some landed on people, some landed on leaves for a bit, like this guy!
There was a pretty little waterfall and bridge inside of the exhibit too. It was like a mini-tropical escape!
There was even an exhibit showing the different stages of caterpillars in cocoons. They were all live; some were still completely cocooned, some freshly hatched and drying their wings and even one mid-hatching. You can see it moving just the tiniest bit!
After spending quite a bit of time with these magical winged creatures, we wandered through the rest of the gardens and sculpture park. We stopped in the Nelson Carnivorous Plant House and checked out the strange Pitcher Plants and the Venus Flytraps.
We walked the Frey Boardwalk around the Wetlands and spied some wildlife including Canadian Geese, Swans, and even a Muskrat! We checked out some local vegetation in the Michigan Farm Garden, and then roamed through the Frostic Woodland Shade Garden.
We learned there will be a new exhibit opening in June of this year, the Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden. From what they have up right now, a gazebo and a little bridge, it looks like it's going to be a good one!
We then took a stroll through the Sculpture Park. There were a lot of headless pieces, several abstract works, and a few things we though would fit well in a Tim Burton film. No trip is complete without a visit to the giant horse sculpture, so we checked him out. Obviously Rob and I have very little understanding of sculpted art - we just don't get it most of the time.
After out outdoor excursion we made our way back inside to check out the Splendors of Shiga: Treasures From Japan collection on loan from various collectors and museums. There were some really neat artifacts from as early as the 14th Century. It's amazing to see how well they held up over the years.
Unfortunately I kind of forgot to take photos outside the butterfly exhibit, and they weren't allowed in the Splendors of Shiga exhibit, but I mean....the butterflies really were the stars of the day!
Have you been to the Frederik Meijer Gardens? What was your favorite part?
If you're interested in planning a trip, they are open most days until 5pm. The Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition runs until April 30th, so there's still time if you're interested in that! There really is something for the whole family to enjoy at the Gardens! They have tram rides around the sculpture park and a special children's garden too!
