Browsing online recently for events happening at the Five Colleges, I noted that the Spring Bulb Show at Smith’s Botanic Garden is open until the 20th, from 10 am to 4 pm daily.  The colleges are on Spring Break this week, so it seemed like a good opportunity to visit the Lyman Conservatory again.  My younger niece is staying with me for a couple of days during her Spring Break, so I took the day off today and dragged her around the Pioneer Valley.

As soon as we stepped into the glass enclosure, we drank in the delicate floral scents and were almost overwhelmed by the masses of color: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, narcissus.  According to the brochure,

Many of our familiar garden bulbs hail from the Mediterranean area, where a combination of mild winters and hot, dry summers provides the perfect climate for these showy plants.

In addition to the bulbs, there were azaleas, camellias, cineraria, cyclamen, forsythia, freesia, primulas.  These photos don’t do justice to the splendor on display:

Red Flowers

Yellow Flowers

Purple Flowers

Orange Flowers

Our next stop was the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, a 20-minute drive north on I-91 and Route 5-10.  In this 8000 square-foot glass enclosure, heated to around 80 degrees, thousands of tropical butterflies and moths flit and feed freely.  The facility opened in October 2000, and has expanded over the years to include an exhibit and display area, gift shop, food court, and outdoor gardens, in addition to the conservatory, with its koi pond, waterfall, profusion of tropical vegetation, gazebos, and park benches.

I believe most of these butterflies are not native to North America, but I can’t identify them.

This might be a moth

I vote this one “Most Photogenic”

This zebra-colored one is actually black and yellow

These are glasswing butterflies

These orchids are growing overhead

I tried capturing this butterfly in flight

Aren’t these birds colorful!

Magic Wings could probably do a better job of educating visitors about these fabulous creatures (for example, I wish there were more information about each species and its native habitat), but their mission is probably more limited. They certainly have created a peaceful sanctuary in which we denizens of northern climes can escape winter’s chill.