Today is the Vernal Equinox and it definitely feels like spring in Denver. Trees are blooming all over the city and our garden is coming back to life...
Three years ago we tore up a large section of cement, which had been part of a driveway running along the side of our home, and turned the newly cleared space into 4 elevated garden beds.
Now that I have some planting experience under my belt, I've decided to be more strategic about what we try and grow this season. The chives, rosemary, lavender and mint have all returned, and I'll definitely add basil (Italian and Thai), thyme, parsley, tomatillos, and tomatoes into the mix. But I'm going to stop growing greens like arugula, lettuce and kale because they haven't done particularly well and one large salad wipes out the crop (again, this is an urban garden and not a farm). I'm going to replace the greens (which we will now get through our CSA and farmers market), with butterfly plants and local flowers that attract bees. I figure it's the least we can do to support our pollinators...and my boys will have fun watching all the insects, which I hope will descend on our garden!
To celebrate the Equinox, here's a round-up of some wonderful designs and art featuring one of our favorite orders: Lepidoptera. Enjoy!
1. Blue Butterfly wallpaper by FliePaper.
2. Butterflies on White Wallpaper by Voutsa
3. Butterfly Parade by Christian Lacroix
4. Artwork by Amy Judd via Trendland
5. Detail, via &OtherStories
6. Butterflies Wallpaper (in light mauve) by Timorous Beasties
7. Butterflies via Billowed on Tumblr
8. Valentino's Butterfly-Print Bambolina Dress, 2014.
9. I Love You (Pink, Poppy and Gold), Damien Hirst. 2015. As Hirst says: ’Love is a beautiful thing and I see it as a small antidote to all the horror in the world’. And, in the case of the piece above, no butterflies died for art so maybe the artist himself has had a change of heart.
10. Butterflies Dome Paperweight from John Derian
11. Rainbow Mirrored Butterfly sunglasses by Matthew Williamson