Whilst the country prepares to emerge from lockdown over the next few months, the team at Stratford Butterfly Farm are once again busy behind the scenes preparing to re-open on 17 May to welcome visitors.
Clive Farrell, owner of Stratford Butterfly Farm, is carefully breeding hundreds of stunning tropical butterflies in greenhouses on his Dorset estate in readiness for them being released into the Farm’s Flight Area. Richard Read, resident Tropical Horticulturist, is overseeing the restructuring and planting of the outdoor gardens from one large garden to three very distinct planting areas -tropical, prairie and wildflower. To enhance the visitor experience, the walkways within the Flight Area have been edged with Cotswold stone and hand-crafted wooden pergolas have replaced the existing metal archways.
A new driveway is also being laid to improve visitor access. There has also been a new arrival amongst the inhabitants. Bennie, the green Iguana has settled in and is the perfect companion for Prudence, the existing green Iguana. They have both taken to the new pergolas and spend many hours climbing up them and basking in the warmth. The team have made improvements to Minibeast Metropolis by adding timber cladding throughout.
Four of the displays have been removed to create space for a large aquarium with an exciting new exhibit to be confirmed. The Amazon Milk Froglet, also known as Phrynohyas resinifictrix, hatched last year and is now large enough to go on display in Minibeast Metropolis. These large, green, brown, and cream coloured tree frogs are native to the rainforests of Central America and can grow up to 9cm although this froglet is currently 4cm.
Jane Kendrick, Marketing Manager at Stratford Butterfly Farm said, “We are so looking forward to re-opening and revealing all the changes we’ve made to improve the Farm during lockdown. As soon as we open our doors again, we will have hundreds of stunning butterflies ready to emerge. Our new wildflower gardens will begin to get established in preparation for the summer months and brighter days!
For more information, please visit www.butterflyfarm.co.uk or telephone 01789 299288
