Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden – Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography

2026 Whatsoever is Lovely: Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #1

XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.

Summertime in the Carolinas is extremely hot and humid, too hot to want to walk around outside. However, it is the best time of year to view and watch the amazing fluttering of beautiful Butterflies. What better way to observe them than in an enclosed Butterfly Bungalow.

That’s exactly what Coleman and I did on Wednesday. It was wonderful and oh so lovely to watch the Butterflies flittering around. They move so fast it was difficult to keep up with them to photograph them.

Here’s a few Butterflies flitting to and fro enjoying the nectar of their favourite flowers.

This week’s featured Butterfly is the Heliconius charithonia, also known as Zebra Longwing or Zebra heliconian. It is distinctively known for its long, black wings with pale yellow stripes. Their wing pattern serves as a warning to potential predators that their toxicity.

One thing which is unique to the Zebra Longwing is that the adult butterflies feed on both nectar and pollen. The pollen enables them synthesize cyanogenic glycosides which makes their bodies toxic to predators.

The Zebra Longwing Butterflies may be spotted in South America, Central America, the West Indies, and the Southeastern United States. Adults will migrate into the Carolinas during the warmer summer months. These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.

Click on images to enlarge.

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week 27

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.

Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 Thursday Doors: July 09

Doors in the Stowe

FOWC — Harebrained

Who’s Harebrained idea was it to come here? It is blazing hot in this extreme heat. Why would anyone think a Harebrained idea like this was alright to leave an air conditioned building to walk around sweating would be fun?

Yesterday’s temperature was 90°F with a heat index of 98°F. Not the recommended temps for walking or hiking outdoors. I asked earlier who had the Harebrained idea to go spend time outside in this heatwave. Where did we go?

Coleman and I were sick and tired or being cooped up indoors. We had been avoiding going out into the extreme hot weather we’ve been experiencing. A person go only take so much of being trapped indoors before anxiety attacks. My daughter (having a day off) suggested Coleman and I go out and visit the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. So that’s who suggested the Harebrained idea of leaving air conditioning and visiting the Stowe Gardens.

This are the entrance doors to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden …

***Entrance Doors***
***to the***
***Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden***
***Belmont, NC***

Click on images to enlarge.

Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.07.09

Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC)-Harebrained

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic rest of your week and weekend ahead. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with w. I appreciate y’all very much.

Monochrome Madness—2026.07.09 [Free Week]

In the Shadows

It was another extremely hot and humid day in the Carolinas. Despite the heat, Coleman and I ventured out to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to check out the new additions (more on that later), the flowers in bloom, and the Butterfly Bungalow (in a future post).

This is the pathway where we began our adventure towards the Gardens and the Butterfly Bungalow.

*Coleman in the Shadows*
*at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden*

Click on image to enlarge.

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

#Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Black & White

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic week ahead. May your week be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Anyone wishing to join in and participate, please go to the Monochrome Madness page to find out how.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour

Trumpet pitcher Sarracenia

Lost Hollow is a section in Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden specifically designed for children. It is also known as The Kimbrell Children’s Garden.

The garden incorporates nature-inspired play spaces that encourage exploration and interaction with the surrounding environment. The Lost Hollow features an amphitheater, sunken pond, Moonkeep, play spaces and more for the imagination. This garden has been expanded since we last visited. It now includes a 0.4 mile Adventure Trail and Prairie Castle Playground for children to explore and enjoy.

Sarracenia (Trumpet pitchers) are carnivorous North American plants with hollow, trumpet-shaped leaves that trap and digest insects. They lure prey with nectar and bright colours by using slippery, downward-pointing hairs and digestive fluids to capture and absorb nutrients which helps to supplement their diet in low- nitrogen environments.

The Yellow Trumpets (Sarracenia flava) have tall yellow-green pitchers with red veins which can reach up to thirty (30) inches. Their colouring often changes from yellow-green to a bright yellow in the Springtime. These particular Yellow Trumpets grow near the pond in Lost Hollow.

Click on images to enlarge.

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #19

Also posting in remembrance of …

Bren’s Floral Friday

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens

Location: Lost Hollow; Kimbrell Children’s Garden; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Cee’s Flower of the Day: 27 March

Spring Garden

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Cee’s FOTD

Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Stop and admire the Beautiful Flowers. Thank you visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Floral Macro Monday: 02.11

Antirrhinum majus

Macro Monday

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Breathe. Stop and Smell the Flowers. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Public Art in a Perennial Garden/FOTD

@Daniel Stowe

Botanical Gardens

*Coleman discovering the Perennial Garden*

Washington Matan Development
Opal Stone
Donated By
Villam and Laura Moore

PPAC (Photographing Public Art Challenge)

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens.

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Monday Window: January 13

Monday Window

To join the challenge, release a post featuring a window or windows any time during the week.

► Tag your post “Monday Window” (NOTE: Put a space between Monday and Window, no “s”, Window is singular.) The WordPress Reader will show most of the recent posts tagged this way (alas, not all).

► Add a comment to the latest Monday Window post and include a link to your latest Monday Window post.

Please visit the participating blogs. You will be delighted and astounded by the rich and imaginative offerings by the bloggers from around the world.

See Monday Window posts in Reader

2025 Cee’s Weekend FOTD: January 11

Camellia japonica

Cee’s Weekend FOTD

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Take Care. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 FOTD: 05.29

Calopogon tuberosus

Simpson’s grass pink and it is in the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) grasspink (Calopogon tuberosus var. simpsonii).

The genus name “Calopogon” is Greek and means “beautiful beard.” It refers to the hairlike structures on the upper petal. It has a bulb-like corm that resembles a tuber, hence the name “tuberosus.” The slender grass-like leaves give rise to the name “grass pink.” It is a stunning wildflower.

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Becky’s #SquareRenew

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Take time to renew your body, mind, and spirit. Like the Garden we also need to renew ourselves to further our growth. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.