Botanica. the Botanical Gardens, Part 2

It's now time to complete this tour of Botanica, even though I only saw about 1/3 of the gardens.


Today's photos begin in the Butterfly House.  From June through September, it's a haven for butterflies.  From October through May, it's a Pansy House.  

This photo I took looks very similar to the one shown on their web site.  I hope you check out the links to these sites as I show them.  Each link opens in a new window.

I can only imagine how beautiful it is when all the butterflies are fluttering around in the spring and summer.

 But, as I was taking the last of the photos, it got really crowded in the Butterfly House, so I departed and continued my journey.

This is the beautiful Evergreen Garden.

Although the photos on the web site are in winter and spring, 

I still enjoyed the beauty of this area.  It's something I would like to recreate in my front garden.

Unfortunately, I never saw the sculpture of the Coyote that is supposed to be here and I didn't see it in their photos, either.

I'm already trying to do my share raising pines, because there are no pines native to Kansas.  I have four pines (three varieties), in my yard.

As I moved from the Evergreen Garden, I was surprised to see a Banana Tree mixed in with the pines.  I can't figure out who does their plantings, but I have advice for them.  Tropical plants don't belong in a pine forest.

OK, I have a love of Palm trees and Banana trees are close to Palms, so I got a bit carried away.

This used to be a creek bed,

but it's dried up, now.

Many people love this next area.

It was designed especially to attract butterflies.

I was sure I had seen a couple fluttering around as I took this photo, but it may have just been my overworked imagination.

This is the Butterfly Garden, but there are no photos on the web site.

I only found one of the sculptures, too.

Now it was time to leave the Butterfly Garden and head back to the beginning.

Once again, I passed the Rose Garden. 

I actually like the photo on their site better than the ones I took of the overgrown area with the tall plants with yellow flowers in the background.

I had finally arrived at one of my favorite areas, the Sensory Garden.  I encourage you to check out their photos against mine.

Lots of edible herbs and plants reside here.

Wouldn't it be great to own property large enough to install one of these?

Here we are inside the Sensory Garden.  I shot my photo much closer than the web site's, but it was because there were SO many people there by that time.   There are two kaleidoscopes from which you can view the plants.

I remember how Johanna took photos of a kaleidoscope from her camera, so I tried it, too.

After taking two shots, I was sure I had wasted the effort, at least until I got these off my camera.  Wow!  I was surprised and quite pleased with the results I got.

I decided since the kaleidescope photos were probably a bust, I would take a final shot of the actual flowers.

Nearby was the Railroad Garden.   I encourage you to click the link, because their photos are far superior to mine.

When I was there, only one train was running.  Note the "wild" animals in the background.

A Wichita Area Garden Railway Society volunteer was repairing one of the trains.  I watched awhile as he worked to get it going again.

Can someone explain what that "angel" is doing on the platform near the oil tanker car?  And why is the butterfly in the background so large?

Are those supposed to be animals sitting or tipped over on the rocks?

I really loved that bridge behind the yellow house.

I know I was supposed to be there to see the plants, but I was simply fascinated by the miniatures.

I hoped the volunteer had fixed the train.

One final close-up as tried to focus in time.  All you can see in this blurry photo is a small part of the yellow caboose.

By now I had been there three hours, even though it seemed like less than an hour.  It was time to cool off inside and take a look at the carousel horses that were being restored.

It was difficult to get a good photo because I couldn't get back far enough to get them all in at once.

Plans for their future are shown on the wall in the background.  You can read about the project here and see the book they are selling here.  The book contains several local places of interest and is geared for children.  However, if you have an extra $250,000.00 (USD) in your pocket, you can donate the Grand Lawn.  For a mere $200,000.00 (also USD, not yen), your name will go on the Party Room next to the pavilion.

It's too bad they placed this sign behind the horses that had already been restored.

These are the ones I showed yesterday. 

Here is a map to the Gardens.  It's in PDF form, so I had to copy, scan, and print it.  It is in full color on their site, so I hope this link works.

This shows the only areas I visited

including the Sensory Garden and Railroad Garden.  It looks a LOT smaller on the map.  I swear, I don't know how many steps I took, but I know I was tired when it was over.  I only wish it had not been so hot and I had lasted longer.

Thanks for taking this voyage to Botanica with me.  I always appreciate your comments and visit.