The Butterfly and Fairy Garden is an 1800sq ft wonderland on the South East side of the Laguna Beach Branch Library.  The garden has a mixture of drought tolerant pollinator friendly plants, mature shrubs and trees. On average, there are 30 fairy houses and fairy scenes nestled throughout the garden. The majority of the patrons are children accompanied by their parents, grandparents or caregivers. However, the whimsy and the beauty of the garden attract butterflies and visitors of all ages. We know this because people constantly stop to tell us how much they love and appreciate the garden and all of the hard work we put into it.

The garden is managed by the partnership of Kim Shields and Simone Adams who currently have a team of seven volunteers who assist in the garden.  Volunteer responsibilities include daily sweeping, deadheading plants, weeding, collecting dead leaves, cleaning and tidying the fairy houses and biweekly watering.  Month over month, the Fairy Garden has grown in popularity.  People congregate in the garden from sunrise to sunset and the visitors look forward to discovering the new monthly theme and decor in the garden.  The Fairy Mail is by far the most popular activity within the Fairy Garden. The children write letters to the fairies and then the fairies answer them.  Last March the Fairies received 90 letters from children and by June they had increased to 250 letters per month. Websites and Vlogs are now listing the Laguna Beach Fairy Garden as a must see family destination.

Each month we meet with the children in the library after story time to introduce the monthly theme of the garden.  Then the children go out to the garden and work together to perform an educational service like picking up leaves for composting, sweeping stones, or releasing live ladybugs which is always followed by an activity or a craft.  This helps the children learn to respect and appreciate all aspects of nature. In the summer months the Fairy Garden honors different pollinators to educate children on the importance of birds and insects and their crucial role in creating a healthy and vibrant ecosystem.  In this way, we teach children not to be fearful of insects like bees or even spiders.

2024/2025 Monthly Garden Themes and Special Events

September- 

Pollinator Series- Birds:
Concluding the pollinator series with the importance of Birds

October- 

Fairytale Month:
The lighter side of Halloween

Creating an enchanted, magical kingdom full of wonder and imagination

November- 

Fall Leaves and Thankfulness

December-

Friday, 12/5/24

Laguna Beach Hospitality Night

Winter Wonderland:
There will be a live holiday tree in the Garden. Wishing Tree event on

January- 

All Things Fairy:
Fairy Scavenger Hunt in the Garden. Expanding on fairy fun, kindness
and love of the Garden

February- 

Love the Library and Valentine’s Day:
Highlighting the love for learning and our amazing library

March- 

Flowers:
Seed to Flower growth cycle

April- 

Springtime:
Hide the Eggs/Find the Eggs Easter Basket Game in Garden

*Earth Day Celebration 

Saturday, 4/26/25

Focusing on all things green: recycling, composting and minimal waste

May- 

Pollinator Series:
Kicks off the Summer pollinator series. Be kind to Bees and Ladybug
Highlighting the importance of bees and all of their busy work

June- 

Pollinator Series:
Bees cont. and Ladybugs:Life cycle and benefits to a healthy
garden

*Fairy Garden Summer Stroll

July- 

Pollinator Series:
Caterpillars and Butterflies
Teaching the Butterfly lifecycle and witnessing it first hand in the Garden

August- 

Pollinator Series:
Butterflies in the Garden (cont.)
*Butterfly and Fairy Festival TBD