When Bruce Pardue started the Butterfly Experience, he wanted it to be an educational experience for all who came to visit.
“To me, I think knowledge is the best thing that can be given and given free,” said Bruce Pardue. “That was the driving force behind the butterfly cottage.”
While on honeymoon, Pardue and his wife visited two butterfly exhibits that left him angry. One, he said, was a small room with three butterflies and the other was an elaborate exhibit. No one was available to educate him at either, he said.
“As nice as this place was, I expected there to be several guides directing traffic, helping people, answering questions. There was absolutely no one there ... When you go in you read signs. There’s a picture of the butterfly and you read the sign and you look for it. By the time we hit the third sign, we finally saw the butterfly that went to the first sign,” Pardue added. “I was angry with these places for not being there to help people.”
Pardue took that anger and decided to create an exhibit at the Little Country Greenhouse that would also be an educational tool for anyone wanting to know how to attract butterflies into their space.
“I feel like people want to see butterflies and they want to know what they can do in their own backyard,” he said.
The Butterfly Cottage is one of two in the United States open free to the public with a guided tour. Pardue says they see everyone from families to school groups come through from the time the cottage opens to the public on May 1 through September.
Visitors to the exhibit are given an orientation complete with pictures of the butterflies that will be found inside. All the butterflies can be found in nature locally. The exhibit is home to breeds like Black Swallowtails, Queens, Buckeyes, Question Marks, White Peacocks and Monarchs, among others. The ecosystem inside is also developed with the specific breeds in mind.
“We go into a lot of different details on different butterflies ... everything from different kinds of host plants, different kinds of nectar plants that you would need to plant in your own backyard,” Pardue said.
The life of a butterfly is only about three weeks, so the exhibit is constantly changing.
“Even if you came today to see butterflies, and you came back in four weeks ... you’ll see an entire new population of butterflies that weren’t there when you came four weeks prior. It’s ever changing all the time in there,” said Pardue.
At present, only a few breeds are flying around, but Pardue says visitors can expect to see between 300 to 400 active butterflies inside the exhibit by Memorial Day weekend. The one breed that Pardue is concerned about being able to continue to keep in the exhibit is the Monarch.
“The Monarch is getting really close to being put on the endangered list right now,” he said. “Once they get put on the endangered list, I don’t know that I’ll ever have them back in here.”
Tours for the butterfly exhibit are held daily at 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm. Pardue recommends that visitors call to reserve a time.
In addition to the opening of the Butterfly Experience, there are a few newer additions to the greenhouse.
The parakeet cage is home to several new births with more expected in the coming days. Pardue said he is also adding new exotic chickens to the hen houses. They also added a garden shed which will have different items for working with houseplants, lawn décor, plants and décor for terrariums as well as a florist to build flower arrangements.
Farm fresh produce is available. And Pardue says their selection of flowers and plants is wide.
“You’re not ever going to see the array of flowers we have right now anywhere,” Pardue said.
The Little Country Greenhouse is open seven days a week year-round.
In the fall, there is a pumpkin and gourd patch as well as photo shoot areas for the family and fall specific flowers. Wintertime brings the opening of the Christmas tree lot, winter wonderland and walk in the wild.
