It isn’t often that you find a family attraction that is dedicated to nature, conservation and preservation but Butterfly World Project in Hertfordshire was established to educate visitors about the life cycle of the butterfly and how to grow plants and flowers to encourage and protect native species in our gardens. The whole project is a long term development with plans to eventually build an impressive biome when funds allow but in the meantime there is still lots to see on a sunny day. Until the biome is built there is a small butterfly house and it was our first chance to get really close to some butterflies. They were fascinating but my little one only wanted to admire them from a safe distance: he definitely didn’t want them landing on him!
Considering that the whole attraction is called ‘Butterfly World’ it is currently disappointingly light on butterflies but it is a haven for insects, bugs and beasties, including a ginormous scuplture of a leaf-cutter ant.
There are wildflower meadows and gardens but our favourite space was the feature garden designed by Ivan Hicks, where everything is larger than life to help you imagine what it is like to be shrunk to the size of an insect. We crawled through flowerpots and sat in a matchbox! It is a playful place to start children thinking about nature and their own environment.
There are also twelve gardens which offer inspiration for gardeners keen to encourage wildlife and these gardens also appeal to adults and children. We loved the Dinosaur Garden where giant dinosaur eggs lay in the middle of a nest made from piles of dead wood and grasses.
I would love to recreate the Bee Garden’s wall of timber at home on a smaller scale. It just shows that encouraging insects into the garden isn’t boring or just a simple case of a wildflower meadow.
There was also a beautiful sculptural garden created using logs which would be paradise for insects and we also thought there was probably a Gruffalo hiding somewhere.
We had a fabulous morning and left inspired with creative and beautiful ways to encourage insects into the garden. The whole place lends itself to a dry and sunny day as the indoor exhibits are limited and I hope that one day we will be able to return to see the Biome complete.
Looks like lots of interesting things and some good space to roam free. I hope the butterfly collection increases or they may need to rename themselves insect weorld - not so catchy! Thank you for linking up anbd glad it was a successul morning.
Coombemill recently posted…Silent Sunday / Project 52
Thanks Fiona, yes it is a little misleading at the moment but I do believe they will eventually build the Biome and I am happy to support them until that time as the aims of the project are very important. Thanks for reading x
Kirsty recently posted…Bring Me Sunshine
Looks like an amazing outdoor space, I like the giant flowerpot! Must have been good fun to explore and it’s great if it gave you some inspiration for your own garden! x
Hayley recently posted…A City Park {Liverpool}
I would love a garden big enough to fit a giant flowerpot but I think I can adapt some ideas to encourage insects without sacrificing design. Thanks for commenting x
Wow that’s really impressive, it looks like a lot of fun for all ages. We live quite far from there but maybe one day!
Notmyyearoff recently posted…Aunties and Baths
Michelle Twin Mum says
Ohh I’ve always wondered what it was like there, we go past regularly and I had no idea, Thanks for the insight. Mich x
Michelle Twin Mum recently posted…Reasons to be Cheerful - week 19, year 3 #R2BC
What an amazing place! Ok, so it was light on butterflies (disappointing, as you say it’s called Butterfly World!) but how amazingly clever to be set up like that so kids can imagine themselves as little insects!
Michelle recently posted…Every Contact Leaves a Trace, a review
That was one of the best bits by far. Just goes to show that being good to the environment doesn’t have to be boring.
This place looks amazing! Despite my huge phobia of ants that is…
Mammasaurus recently posted…The bluebells at Pepperbox Hill, in colour and black and white
Just gorgeous, love the photograph…and the pin it - very clever!
Amanda recently posted…Five tips on how to keep your home cool during the summer