Botanical Gardens Tour - Day 4 - Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - Huntsville Botanical Gardens, AL

 This morning's trip to Huntsville was only about three hours and I wanted to avoid rush hour in Nashville so I took my time, enjoyed a really good hot breakfast at the hotel, and finished sorting through photos from the day before.  I arrived at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens around noon and was surprised to see how empty the parking lot was.  I was able to snag one of the spots in the shade that we usually get when we are the first ones to arrive for the day.  And as I was entering many people were leaving so the place was really all mine to explore without interruption.

This day's theme seemed to be bees, butterflies, spiders, and other insects.

The butterfly house at these gardens is always one of my favorite spots and there seemed to be even more butterflies than normal!

This grasshopper found its way into the butterfly house.

This year's exhibit is "Uncaged: Birds, Nature, & You".

Twigs, Twine, and Cuckoo Clock Time by Artist Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment

Home Tweet Home by Artist Pamela Keller and Cypress Creek Designs

The Door is Open by Artist Chris Boyd Taylor Studios

I found a Green Lynx Spider again in the same area of the garden on these same flowers as a visit last October!

I only spent about an hour and 40 minutes at this garden but I think I was anxious to get home and knew this is a garden I will get back to again soon.  The drive home from there was only about 1.5 hours.

My total trip was a little over 1,600 miles.  I visited four major botanical gardens in six days and had a great visit with my family so it really all was quite a success and so much fun!

Botanical Gardens in the Spring

 There is no bad time to visit botanical gardens, especially in the south where there is almost always something blooming but spring may be my favorite time to visit them.  I just love the tulips and the variety of spring flowers.  Since February, we have made multiple trips to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, a trip to the Huntsville Botanical Garden, and a trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  Here are some photos from those trips.

I'm going to start with the Camellias that start blooming in the winter and continue into early spring.  The hard frost and snow of February 16 and 17 withered these blossoms but the plants thrived and re-bloomed again when it warmed up.  These photos were taken at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on February 7, 2021.  Camellias are common all over the south and are found in each of the three gardens I visited.

The earliest spring flower is probably the Hellebore.  In the north these flowers will bloom when there is still snow on the ground.  All of these were taken at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (although all three gardens have plenty of this spring flower).  Photo dates:  February 13, 2021 (first four) and February 20, 2021 (last three).

No discussion of spring flowers would be complete without mentioning all the flowering trees.  These photos are from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 7, 2021 - the first four; March 20, 2021 - the last one).

Daffodils are one of the first spring bulbs to bloom.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 13, 2021)

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 20, 2021)

Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

Next I want to talk about one of my favorites, Trillium.  This really unique native spring wildflower is in my opinion, too often overlooked.  We planted them in our yard when we owned a house in Wisconsin.  I knew that the Huntsville Botanical Garden had a whole garden dedicated to them and so they were a must-see this year.  What I didn't realize is that my local garden, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens also has a fair number of them.  And I found them again today at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Huntsville Botanical Gardens (March 9, 2021)

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

I did not realize that poppies bloom this early in the spring.  These photos are from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  The first was taken February 13, 2021.  (I did notice that when we visited on February 20, after the hard frost and snow - the poppies were no where to be found.  They re-emerged in March.) The remaining photos were taken March 20, 2021.

Hyacinths are another great spring flower.  

Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

Nothing says spring more than tulips and tulips were absolutely the star of the Atlanta Botanical Garden but I also found them at the other two gardens.

Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

Snowdrops are a little dainty spring flower.  The first three are from the Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021).  The last is from the Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021).

Here are a few other flowers that have been blooming recently which I am not as familiar with.

Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

Spring Starflower

Some sort of Iris?

Paperbush

Since Orchid Daze is going on right now at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I'll include a few photos of orchids from their conservatory.

This isn't an orchid but the texture of it was just so cool.  It was in the conservatory near the orchids.

I can't end this blog post without including few photos my husband and I exploring the gardens.

Butterfly House at the Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)

Conservatory at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)

Atlanta Botanical Gardens (March 21, 2021)

Orchid Daze at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)

Finally, spring is also a time of bird migration.  We stumbled upon a huge flock of Cedar Waxwings in downtown Birmingham on March 18, 2021 and so I will include a few photos of these beautiful birds.