The Secret Garden celebrates with two weekends of family fun
The beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterfly is the focus of The Secret Garden's Butterfly Fest, Sept. 14-15 and 21-22. Courtesy The Secret Garden
Love butterflies? It’s time to wing it to The Secret Garden in Elk Grove.
The butterflies – specifically Gulf Fritillary butterflies – annually return to this destination nursery during their migration, attracted by their favorite host plant: passionflower.
Each September, The Secret Garden celebrates their comeback with its annual “Butterfly Fest.” And after the large crowd that turned out last year, The Secret Garden decided to double the celebration with two weekends devoted to butterfly fun.
On Sept. 14-15 and Sept. 21-22, Butterfly Fest will entertain and inform about these important and beautiful pollinators. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day; admission is free.
“Mark your calendars for a fluttering good time at The Secret Garden's Annual Butterfly Fest this September!” say the organizers. “Due to last year's incredible turnout, we're excited to announce an extended celebration over two weekends.
“Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of butterflies and pollinators at our local nursery. Every year, The Secret Garden becomes a haven for Gulf Fritillary butterflies during their migration, attracted to our lush passionvine. Join us as we honor these winged wonders and delve into the importance of pollinators in our ecosystem.”
At 11 a.m each day, take a guided tour of the butterfly’s life cycle with a visit to see hungry caterpillars in action as well as mature butterflies.
Designed for the whole family, the fest offers free kid activities such as face painting. A coffee cart will offer beverages. Or visitors can enjoy a scoop of Leatherby’s ice cream.
To coax more butterflies to your landscape, take home some perennials including such butterfly favorites as California native milkweed and passionflower. (They’ll be on sale for 15% off.)
Butterflies are most active in the cooler morning hours, so get there early to enjoy the show.
The Secret Garden is located at 8450 W. Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove.
For details and directions: https://www.secretgarden-online.com/.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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