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Butterflies and Blooms Abound at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers

Butterflies and Blooms at the Conservatory of FlowersOne of our favorite destinations in San Francisco is the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, especially when they're presenting a special exhibit. This spring and summer, visitors to the Conservatory can get eye to eye with a butterfly in Butterflies & Blooms, in the special exhibits gallery through October 20, 2013.

Butterflies & Blooms transforms the Conservatory's special exhibits gallery into an intimate cottage garden that plays host to hundreds of butterflies! You'll see over 20 species of North American butterflies, including monarchs, western swallowtails, red admirals, and more, as well as several giant moths like the colorful cecropia moth.

We paid a visit to Butterflies & Blooms last week. When you first walk into the room, you realize you're walking into the butterflies' habitat. The gallery is draped in a giant white net that contains the fluttering inhabitants. The hundreds of butterflies are free to fly around the room and land on the butterfly-friendly plants and flowers like daisies, sunflowers, and zinnias, and the effect is magical. Some will even land on you—we were told it's good luck!

Butterflies and Blooms at the Conservatory of FlowersButterflies and Blooms at the Conservatory of Flowers

My kids and I were amazed, although my daughter was a little apprehensive at first. She soon warmed up to the butterflies, though. She loved looking through the handout booklet to identify all the different varieties of butterflies that she could find. The booklet is really informative and contains photos, descriptions, activitiies, and interesting facts. Did you know that a butterfly tastes with its feet?

The Butterfly Bungalow in the middle of the gallery allows visitors to observe the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. You might even glimpse the moment when a butterfly hatches from its cocoon!

It's definitely a must-see when you visit Golden Gate Park. While you're there, make sure you check out the other rooms in this spectacular Victorian greenhouse to see more amazing plants and flowers. For more information on the Conservatory of Flowers and Plantosaurus Rex, visit www.conservatoryofflowers.org or call (415) 831-2090.

If You Go

The Conservatory of Flowers is located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive. It's open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 am–4:30 pm (last entry at 4 pm); closed Mondays except Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Admission is $7 for adults ($5 for San Francisco residents, with proof of residency), $5 ($3 residents) for youth 12–17, seniors 65+, and college students with ID, $2 ($1.50 residents) for children 5–11, and free for children 4 nd under. Admission to the Conservatory is free on the first Tuesday of the month.

Butterflies and Blooms at the Conservatory of FlowersButterflies and Blooms at the Conservatory of Flowers

To get there, take Highway 101 south across the Golden Gate Bridge, and take the Highway 1/19th Avenue exit onto Park Presidio Avenue. Follow Park Presidio and turn right on Balboa Street, left on 14th Avenue, and left again onto Cabrillo Street. Follow Cabrillo and turn right on 10th Avenue to enter the Music Concourse Garage, or continue to turn right onto 8th Avenue to enter into Golden Gate Park.

Limited four-hour street parking is available in the park; paid parking is in the park's Music Concourse Garage. Please note that on Sundays throughout the year and Saturdays from April through September many of the roads in Golden Gate Park are closed to vehicular traffic.