Sophie M. Sachs Butterfly House

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The Sophie M. Sachs Butterfly House is a division of Missouri Botanical Garden located in Chesterfield MO. Our membership in the Springfield Botanical Gardens Friends group got us free admission to the Missouri Botanical Garden on our first day in St. Louis and then, the next morning, to the butterfly house! There is a large butterfly sculpture near the entrance. We arrived shortly after they opened because we were concerned that it might be a day when school groups would be there for a field trip later in the morning.

The conservatory was less crowded that my first visit over a year ago. It was warm enough that the butterflies were very active. Most of them are exotics (i.e. not native to North America) and I remembered most of them from visits to previous butterfly houses. Owls have one spot on their wing…blue morphs have lots of spots. The malachite is my favorite! I also liked seeing pitcher plants in the lush vegetation….and the insect themed benches.

The enclosed garden just outside the butterfly house, features a statue of a young girl with butterflies and lots of native plants…including some larger pitcher plants….more insect themed benches.

I recognized a plant in the garden that I have at home…and it had a sign: Virginia Sweetspire. My phone had identified it as Virginia Willow and I had thought it was wrong since it didn’t seem to be willow-like….but that is another common name for Virigina Sweetspire. I am thrilled that it is native to North American since I have two of them that came with my house! I also noticed stands of Missouri Evening Primrose – another great native in my gardens too.

On the way back to the car, I took pictures of the giant caterpillar and butterfly sculptures…along with milkweed in various stages of blooming.

Since my husband was driving, I took a few roadcut pictures on the way home.

At my daughter’s house, I noticed that her miniature roses were blooming next to her driveway….an opportunity for some last photos…savoring the day.  

Ten Little Celebrations – May 2026

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It seemed like a lot of my activities ramped up in May.

Volunteering

Roston Native Butterfly House. The butterfly house season started and I had 4 shifts….the first one on Mother’s Day. I celebrated that there were lots of butterflies….and people coming to see them!

Getting speakers for fall Missouri Master Naturalist core training. It was wonderful that virtually everyone I asked to speak or host a field trip said ‘yes.’ By the end of the month, I was celebrating that the plan for the training was looking more achievable.

Reconnoiter of a new field trip location. I celebrated a first visit to a new field trip location - rejoicing that is it such a rich place for Master Naturalist activities.

Soil field trip. The field trip to soil pits was one that I had arranged months ago. I celebrated that it finally happened….and how good it was.

My Yard

New native plant garden. Only one of the 30+ plants that I planted in my new bed looks like it won’t make it. I am celebrating that the rest are thriving and excited about how great the garden will begin to look as the warm weather continues. Next year it should look even better!

American Spikenard. Every time I look out my office window, I celebrate that one of the first native plants I bought and planted in my Missouri yard was an American Spikenard. The violets growing under it look great too!

Food

Salmon. I have discovered frozen salmon fillets and have been thrilled at how easy it is to thaw and then bake them at 325 degrees while I prepare the sides…..celebrating salmon at home rather than just in restaurants!

Chocolate cake. I stopped at a diner on the way back from my trip to Lewisville this month….and celebrated their version of chocolate cake!

Travel

Missouri Botanical Garden. It’s my favorite place in the St. Louis area. I like their art in the garden exhibits that have special lighting at night. This time I celebrated the garden with my husband and daughter.

Another butterfly house. We visited the Sophie M. Sachs Butterfly House on the morning after the Missouri Botanical Garden. It was only my second time to see it, and I celebrated being a visitor rather than a docent…and seeing some familiar exotic butterflies again.

My Favorite Photographs from 2023

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Photography is something I enjoy frequently (one of those hobbies that pop up almost daily!). I’ve picked 2 photos from each month of 2023 for this post. Picking favorites is always a bit of a challenge; looking at the collection as I write this post I realize some were chosen for the light

  • A heron in morning light

  • A backlit dandelion

  • High key image of iris…and then a turkey using the same technique

…some for the subject

  • The busy fox squirrel

  • Two insects in one flower

  • The egret struggling to control a fish

  • The feet of the American Coot

…some because they prompted a strong memory of the place.

  • Driftwood at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

  • Sculpture in the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House Garden in St. Louis

  • Metal iris and sunrise at my parents’ house

  • Geese on the snow and ice in my neighborhood in Missouri

  • Cairn as the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden in Springfield, MO

  • A flower blooming in December at Josey Ranch Park in Carrollton, TX

Enjoy the mosaic of images (click to see a larger version).

Sophia M. Sachs Butterly House

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After a day at the Missouri Botanical Garden – we headed to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House near St. Louis MO the next morning. Its another facility that is part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. We were there a few minutes before it opened and walked around the outside gardens. It included a giant butterfly and caterpillar sculpture!

There was also a butterfly bench like the ones in Brookside Gardens in Maryland!

There were many fall plants blooming too – including cone flowers, butterfly weed, and goldenrod.

We entered the building as it opened. Everything had a butterfly theme – even a wall sculpture near the restrooms.

The conservatory is a year-round climate-controlled space for butterflies. We were familiar with many of the butterflies there because of our experiences at Brookside. Some of the butterflies were tagged – not sure why. We enjoyed watching the children with their families experience the butterflies – noticing butterflies in the air…looking to see them on the fruit or in the foliage.

The exit  from the conservatory leads to another garden with a water feature and sculpture of a child with butterflies on her hand and knee.

It was a good morning activity. We enjoyed photographing the gardens and butterflies (would be even more appealing in the winter when the conservatory would be pleasantly warm compared to outdoors) and we headed home afterward.

Fall Activities

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September is the beginning of fall activities. I am doing some fall cleaning inside the house and doing the last plantings in the yard (hoping the plants will be well established before the first frost). The Indian Corn is on the front door.

There are more events scheduled in our area now that the temperatures are a bit cooler. We trekked to Shaw Nature Reserve near St. Louis for their plant sale, bought puzzles at the Friends of the Greene County Library book sale, and walked through Cider Days in Springfield (enjoyed a Pineapple Whip as we walked…being part of a Saturday morning crowd) then enjoyed a BBQ lunch as a new place. My daughter went to an evening Brew at the Zoo; my husband and I enjoyed it vicariously – learning that the lions and other big cats were very active as it got dark…the lions ‘caroling.’ Toward the end of the month, my husband and I made a quick trip to St. Louis – another visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden (and their Chihuly glass) and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House….blog posts coming soon re that adventure.

And we are anticipating more travel in the next few months (other than the monthly week in Texas) – a fall foliage trip to a state park in Oklahoma…a birding festival in New Mexico. Overall, fall is a great time of year to be out and about – between the heat of summer and the cold of winter; it is often the ‘just right’ season of the year!