Butterflies Provide Interior Design Color Inspiration

Pretty colors  of black, taupe and peach

Black and Turquoise with a touch of red! Reminds me of Mariterese's living room

Black, White and Caramel - my family room colors1

Black and Creme

chartreuse and brown

Shades of brown and creme

Black and tomato red with a touch of white

Black and white- soft and feminine design

More black and white- strong and masculine design

Butterflies eating the decaying fruit left in feeders in the house

Arbor over the main path leading into the gardens

gracefully flowing in the soft breeze

making honey

the sunflowers are almost ready to flower.

Perfection

The white zinnias in front of the water feature was gorgeous

the leaves on this canna lily are beautiful.



love this chartreuse sedum ground cover.

Isn't this a painting by Monet??

Kangaroo Paw - did not know it grew here!

Planting in groupings of color really makes a difference- 25 plants together are much more impactful than 3!

This weekend, Mr. RTH and I are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary - wow- how did we get so old?  So he surprised me this morning by taking off work ( something he NEVER does) and took me to the Chicago Botanic Garden to see the Butterfly House!   All he said is "bring your camera".  Arriving at the white tented structure, we were ushered into a vestibule before entering the Butterfly House - a precautionary area  to keep the butterflies trapped in the house.  Then a screen flap was opened and we entered the house.  I was utterly amazed  to see how many butterflies were flying around in this magical retreat.  The tent was planted with flowers that butterflies love.   You had to be careful not to step on them, as they landed on any available surface.  Capturing their colors with my camera was tricky as they didn't stay still for very long, especially the blue ones. Their colors are magnificent, giving me lots of ideas for  color applications in rooms.  If you live in the Chicago area, you have to see this exhibit ( especially if you have little children) .  Leaving the butterfly house, we spent the next hour or so walking the exquisite gardens.  The flowers are at their peak and the vegetable garden is full of vegetables.  This weekend is a Heirloom Tomato seminar with cooking demos and seed saving tips.  We are very fortunate to have this incredible resource in our area.