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View Full Version : Live butterflies and more



Stuart Frohm
03-10-2010, 07:53 AM
Butterflies in Bloom, the 13th annual exhibit of live butterflies (and other creatures) in Dow Gardens' conservatory in Midland, Michigan, runs through April 18.
Details are at http://www.dowgardens.org/
In addition to many varieties of butterflies, Chinese painted quail run loose, canaries are caged, there's at least one sizable frog in a pond, and orchids and other plants make nice subjects for photos.
If your camera is cold, beware condensation after entering the warm, humid conservatory.
Tripods are permitted; but for safety reasons, are best used when school groups have left — probably around 2 p.m.
Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with later hours to come on some Wednesdays.
I estimate the conservatory is approximately a five-minute walk from the visitors' center, where you will enter the property.
Rides from the visitors' center to and from the conservatory can be arranged, for a small fee, a day or more ahead of your visit.
Dow Gardens is next door to the Midland Center for the Arts, which is hosting water-related exhibits. (I have not checked into whether photography of those exhibits is permitted.) The days of operation of the Center for the Arts are fewer per week than Dow Gardens'.