Summer II by Sharen Chatterton

Our city is in the planning stages of a community garden, called Common Ground. I am so excited about the ability to have a larger garden plot than we have in our small side yard. This community garden will provide the opportunity for people to participate in a venue that will not only allow them to grow some fresh vegetables, yum, but to educate folks about organic gardening, beneficial and harmful insects, plant diseases and organic controls, as well as getting kids involved in gardening and becoming better stewards of our earth. We are, as I said, in the planning stage, but I am so excited to be getting in on the ground floor of what promises to be a wonderful adventure. There has also been talk of an art component to the garden, which would allow me the opportunity to do some of my work in a format that could withstand the Texas weather; providing vibrant colors in the Common Ground Garden all year long. Can’t wait to see the end product. The city is planning to break ground in October and be ready for spring plantings. I’ll keep you up to date on the progress.

The beginning

I started my next Zebra Longwing painting. It has a spectacular Zebra Longwing, with wings fully open, sipping nectar from a Deep Pink Penta Flower. Once again, my inspiration for this piece came from one of my visits to the Butterfly house at Texas Discovery Gardens. I love the contrast of the massed pink penta against the black of the Zebra Longwing. This is evolving into one of my favorite pieces, but who am I kidding, all my paintings are each my favorite piece, in there own special way. The Zebra Longwing is the mascot butterfly for Texas Discovery Gardens. It is actually a poisonous species due to the host plant it feeds on, they advertise this with their brilliant black and yellow- white markings. Slow but dignified, the Zebra Longwing is a weak flier. Long antennae and a slender body are typical of these butterflies, which are at home in the tropics, but can sometimes be found as far north as Kansas. The Penta, is an evergreen bush (Alas, not here in North Texas) that, in warm climates, will light up the landscape all year with colorful star-shaped clusters. Hummingbirds and butterflies will often visit the Penta blooms before they visit other flowering plants. Although penta can survive an occasional light frost, it won’t tolerate a hard freeze. If you live in a cold climate, either grow Penta as an annual or plant it in a container and bring it indoors for the winter. These plants are great nectar plants for most any butterfly or hummingbird. Plant some this spring, the rewards are endless! Enjoy a work in progress:

it's taking shape

Gallery Postcard

It feels like Christmas! Having my work on exhibit in the Gallery at Texas Discovery Gardens is so amazing. I feel so very blessed to be able to intertwine my art with such a beautiful venue that supports our environment. My work will be on exhibition beginning March 22 and ending July 31, 2010. There will be an Opening Reception for the Exhibit on March 26th from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Gallery. Texas Discovery Gardens’ 7.5 acres offer a wonderful diversity of garden styles and botanical collections. The Gardens feature native plants and plant species from other regions of the world that are adapted to the challenging climate and soils of North Texas. Plants are also selected for their benefits in providing habitat for native wildlife, including butterflies, bugs, and birds. You can also enjoy more than 15 native species of butterflies in the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium, as well as many new tropical butterflies. They offer many fun, hands-on environmental education programs for children and adults. What a great place to spend a Saturday enjoying art, flowers, butterflies and fun!

Zebra Longwing and Jatropha

I have almost finished my piece “Zebra Longwing and Jatropha”. This is the piece I am doing for the Organic in the City event for Texas Discovery Gardens. I was able to get pictures of the Zebra Longwing and the Jatropha plant on one of my visits to the Butterfly House and Gardens at Texas Discovery Gardens. The Zebra Longwing is the mascot butterfly for Texas Discovery Gardens. It is actually a poisonous species due to the host plant it feeds on, they advertise this with their brilliant black and yellow- white markings. Slow but dignified, the Zebra Longwing is a weak flier. Long antennae and a slender body are typical of these butterflies, which are at home in the tropics, but can sometimes be found as far north as Kansas. According to Wikipedia, Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees, from the family Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from (Greek iatros = physician and trophe = nutrition), hence the common name physic nut. Jatropha is native to Central America and has become naturalized in many tropical and subtropical areas, including India, Africa, and North America. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Below is a glimpse into the work in progress:

Just beginning to paint.

Working on Jatropha flowers.

Filling in color.

Organic in the City

I am beginning a new painting called “Zebra Longwings” which I will be donating to the Texas Discovery Gardens for their Charity event Organic in the City Fashion Show and Auction. This event is one of the major fund raisers for the Texas Discovery Gardens. Texas Discovery Gardens is an educational organic garden facility in North Central Texas, that advances the knowledge and skill set of the community to restore, conserve and preserve nature in the urban environment. They accomplish this using their conservatory, greenhouse and 7.5 acre outdoor gardens in urban Dallas along with a full array of teaching programs developed for children and adults.  Their reach begins with small children and adults new to gardening and continues up to and through the Master Gardener level.  Texas Discovery Gardens serves thousands of inner-city students each year.  With the opening of the new Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium and the new indoor children’s classroom, Texas Discovery Gardens is now able to offer its EarthKeeper’s® Children’s Education Programs year round.  These programs are educational and fun and they promote excitement and interest in learning math and science via the natural world, they expand student knowledge and understanding of living sustainably, and help youth appreciate and embrace nature. The Organic in the City Fashion Show and Auction is an exciting, fun event eagerly anticipated by fashion, gardening and green living advocates.  Through this event Texas Discovery Gardens will raise thousands of dollars for the expansion of the children’s EarthKeeper’s programs and to bring Butterfly Gardens to schools across Dallas. For more information on Texas Discovery Gardens and this event, click on the link below.

http://www.texasdiscoverygardens.org

The beginning of Zebra Longwings

Sunflowers and Gulf Fritillary Butterfly 8 x 8 acrylic on canvas

I am just about finished with my small canvas “Sunflowers and Gulf Fritillary Butterfly”. I have just a little bit of detail work to do, but it is almost there.  I was surprised at the time it took to do this small canvas. From beginning to end it was about a days worth of painting. For some reason, I feel like with such a small canvas, it shouldn’t take that long, but the detail work is time consuming. Oh well, I enjoyed working small and will probably do some more. The star in this painting is the Gulf Fritillary, which is a Brush-footed Butterfly, this family of butterflies is very large with about 3,000 species worldwide. This lovely bright orange member is found primarily in the South.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, the caterpillars of the Gulf Fritillary, love passion flowers. One of these vines in your yard and some nectar flowers will provide a nice habitat for these beauties.

Zebra Longwings Butterfly photo by Sharen Chatterton

According to an American Indian Legend – If anyone desires a wish to come true they must first capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it. Since a butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly cannot reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the Great Spirit always grants the wish. So, according to legend, by making a wish and giving the butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and be granted.

Most People just like butterflies, whats not to like, they are graceful, beautiful, colorful creations. I don’t think any other insect has been the inspiration for so many, artists, writers as well as naturalists.

However butterfly populations all over the world are being threatened by loss of habitat. Butterfly gardening, is a great way to provide additional habitat for butterfly species in your area. The species of butterfly vary by region, but by doing a little investigating and planting both nectar plants to attract the adult butterflies and also planting larvae foodplants for the caterpillars, you can increase the local population of butterflies in your area. Not to mention increase your gardens beauty with these colorful winged flowers. Throughout the country, the general requirements for butterfly gardening are the same: full sun, nectar source plants, larval host plants, a pesticide-free environment, and knowledge of the local butterflies. Many butterfly-attracting plants are natives and require little attention, as they are naturally adapted to the region in which they live. Butterfly gardens are best planted in the spring with younger plants or in the fall with mature plants that will become dormant quickly and re-emerge in the spring.

Butterfly Attracting Plants

Host Plants and the Butterflies they Attract

Look for an opportunity in your area to participate in a butterfly release. This is one of the most phenomenal events you will ever attend.  We attended one this weekend at the Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. It was their first annual “Come to the Tropics Butterfly Release”. We had a great time. While the outside temperature was about 12 degrees Fahrenheit; we were browsing the booths, listening to tropical music, then releasing a butterfly and observing many other butterflies, all in the warm and humid Tropical butterfly house. I released a very large Paper Kite, or Rice-paper Butterfly, which is white with black lines, it had about a 3-4 inch wing span. Carter released a Zebra Longwings butterfly, which is the mascot butterfly of the Butterfly House. We really had a great time, taking pictures and watching the people and butterflies. I now have lots of photos for new flower and butterfly art!

Check out the following sites for more info on butterflies:

http://www. TexasDiscoveryGardens.org

http://www.dallasbutterflies.com

Twin Mix II

This work is a collaborative effort between Karen and I. Our inspiration, the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly and the beautifully intricate passion flower.  We have so many of these Fritillary Butterflies in our side yard, the reason we have them, is because we have several passion vines planted. These butterfly lay their eggs on the leaves of the passion vine, they are very small yellow spheres, which eventually produce the caterpillar. These guys have a ferocious appetite and could easily strip all the leaves on the vine. The leaves grow back, and the vine continues to produce its beautiful flower, as the chrysalis transform into the Fritillary butterfly. It is spectacular to come out in the morning and have 30 or more butterflies scurrying about our yard. Plant some passion vines, if they will thrive in your area,  you will be providing much needed habitat for many varieties of Fritillary butterflies.

Passion flower & Gulf Fritillary in side yard

"The Painted Lady"

I have finally finished my painting “The Painted Lady”.  The focal point of this piece is of coarse, the Painted Lady Butterfly. This is one of the most familiar butterflies in North America, as well as around the world.  If you want to attract these pretty ladies to your yard, plant thistle, hollyhocks, common sunflowers, yarrow and mallows. The butterfly will lay their eggs on these plants and the larvae ie. caterpillars will feast on these when they hatch out.  The painted lady has to lay her eggs on or very near the right food plant for the eggs, otherwise the caterpillars will not survive. These babies have a ferocious appetite and begin eating as soon as they hatch. The sweet nectar plants for the painted beauties are thistles, asters, cosmos, blazing stars, iron-weed, and Joe-pye weed. Try planting a few of the host plants and nectar plants in your butterfly garden. For those plants that are invasive or less attractive, plant in containers, creating a smorgasbord for the painted ladies. Butterflies are threatened more and more everyday by loss of habitat, plant some host and nectar plants for butterfly conservation!