Butterfly Fest 2026

September 12–13 & September 19–20 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Experience the magic of Butterfly Fest at The Secret Garden! Each September, our nursery becomes a vibrant stopover for hundreds of beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterflies during their annual migration. Stroll through the garden as butterflies flutter all around you and discover the incredible life cycle of these fascinating pollinators.

This family-friendly event offers something for everyone, including:

 🦋Guided Butterfly Life Cycle Tours at 11:00 AM each day
🎨🖌️Face painting
☕Local coffee & bakery truck
🔎Free kids' butterfly scavenger hunt
✏️A complimentary coloring table for little artists
📷Plenty of photo opportunities surrounded by butterflies and blooming gardens
🧠Learn about the host and nectar plants that support butterflies

To celebrate our pollinator friends and inspire butterfly-friendly gardens at home, all perennials will be 15% off during Butterfly Fest. It's the perfect opportunity to add beautiful, pollinator-supporting plants to your landscape while learning how even small gardens can make a big difference.

Whether you're a nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, or looking for a memorable family outing, Butterfly Fest is a wonderful way to experience one of nature's most incredible migrations and celebrate the importance of pollinators.

Admission is free! Join us on September 12–13 and September 19–20 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for a weekend filled with butterflies, family fun, and garden inspiration.

*Please remember that butterflies are wild animals. While we typically have hundreds of butterflies throughout the festival, their activity depends on weather and natural migration patterns, so sightings may vary from day to day.

Butterfly Fest FAQ

1. Is the event free to attend?
2. Yes! This event is free to attend. 
3. Will you be releasing butterflies? 
4. No, we do not release butterflies at Butterfly Fest. Instead, we’ve created an environment that sustains an entire population of Gulf Fritillary butterflies by growing the host plant (passiflora) in multiple spots throughout the nursery. With the proper host plant as well as lots of nectar options for the adults, the butterflies naturally migrate to The Secret Garden to lay their eggs, and hatch their babies. By creating the optimal environment we end up with hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies every summer! 
5. When is the best time to come to see the butterflies? 
6. The butterflies are seen around the nursery from June through December, not only during the event dates in September. However we time our Butterfly Fest to be held during the period when they are the most active. 
7. Butterflies prefer a certain temperature to be active and they don’t like the extreme heat or cold. This means they tend to come out in the late morning and go back into hiding in the afternoon if the heat gets intense, which is why we have the event times set from 10am-2pm. The Secret Garden is open from 10am to 5pm daily, even on event days, and if the weather happens to be optimal those days, the butterflies may stay out later in the day. It’s all up to Mother Nature! We start the tours at 11am because that seems to be when they are most active.
8. If for any reason you would rather avoid the busy weekend event days, you can visit the nursery during the weeks of the event and take a self-guided tour using event signage. We still suggest you visit between 11am and 2pm for best viewing.
9. Is there a sale during the event?
10. Yes, since we’re hoping to encourage you to plant perennials to invite pollinators into your own gardens, we will offer 15% off all plants including CA native milkweed, passiflora, and other perennials on each date of the event. We’ll even have curated Plant Packs available to take the guesswork out of choosing the perfect plants for inviting hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden!
11. What are the Life Cycle Tours like?
12. We will be leading Life Cycle Tours on each day of the event starting at 11am. The tours are done in a large group and are led by one of our team members with a microphone. She leads the group through the nursery pointing out butterfly eggs, chrysalis, caterpillars, and adult butterflies and teaches attendees all about the life cycle of the butterflies. She’ll address which plants to grow to attract them to your garden, and how to support the butterfly population. The tour takes approx 15-20 minutes to complete. 
13. What else does the event entail?
14. Kids’ Activities: 
15. Face Painting: 10-2pm each day
16. Free Coloring Table and Scavenger Hunts each day 10-2pm
17. Butterfly enclosures so kids can get an up-close look
18. Butterfly headbands, wands and pins
19. Food/Drink:
20. Local Coffee Vendors - 10-2pm each day
21. Snack Bar - snack & drink offerings TBD - 10-2pm each day
22. Parking: 
23. Parking is limited in our small parking lot. We recommend carpooling! Be prepared to park on the street and walk if the parking lot is full. 
24. Bathrooms:
25. We will have an outhouse available during the event for guest use.