Encinitas Garden Festival May 3rd, 2008 - 10 am to 4 pm

The Encinitas Garden Festival is an all-day celebration of community, gardening, and the horticultural heritage of Encinitas.

This year’s event continues a tradition that started in May of 2005 when more than 30 residents of downtown Encinitas opened their gardens for a sell-out event. In April 2006, 1200 people toured more than 20 fantastic gardens in north Leucadia.

The 2008 Garden Festival kicks off at the parking lot of Mira Costa College, San Elijo Campus in Cardiff. There, tour participants board double decker buses for a ride to the Gardeners’ Marketplace at the Olivenhain Town Hall.

From the Town Hall participants begin a self-guided walking tour that features more than 20 Olivenhain gardens of every size and style, from Mediterranean to tropical, California native to English, Zen, and even a vineyard.

Back in the Marketplace, vendors will offer unusual plants and beautiful garden art, as well as information on saving water in the garden, attracting birds and butterflies, gardening at the urban/wildland interface, and much, much more.

The Encinitas Garden Festival is an all-volunteer event that started as an initiative of the City of Encinitas Cultural Tourism committee.