Photo Courtesy of Darryl DuFay.

Midst the hustle and bustle of Venice, one can find solace in this Secret Garden-a very special, quiet relief from the hum-drum of the beach with its crowd.

The garden is what Update refers to as a “Secret Garden” because who would know. It provides the transition that the story “Secret Garden” does. It is just off 29th between Pacific and Strongs Drive. When one enters, one is transformed from beach gibberish to the flight and plight of the Monarch as they dance around flaunting their grace in flight.

It also shows what one can do with a small, castaway piece of land with a little imagination, a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and some coins.

This is the trail one enters from Strongs Drive that leads to Pacific. To the left is the metamorphosis of the butterfly in about five vivid, DuFay photos. The trail quickly turns and goes uphill from what is seen.

This is entrance of the path from Pacific and winds down hill to Strongs Drive.

Darryl DuFay, who writes the Voice of the Canals and takes excellent photos, invites all to view photos of “Monarch Manor,” “our Monarch Butterfly Garden,” which Update dubbed the “Secret Garden.” Daryl’s photos show the raw patch of ground to the finished product. That raw patch is worth viewing.

“The work began in December 2007 by Grace Godlin and Darryl DuFay,” the story goes. “They worked daily over the next five months, while supporting it with their own funds. With the assistance from Mark Grant of the Council Office, the Department of Street Services removed the vegetation they cleared.

“The photos span 2007 to date. The Garden Tour, which is shown, occurred in July 2009. The latest addition was a permanent fence in October 2012, and informative butterfly photos this spring. Since 2008 the Voice of the Canals (VOC) has funded the garden along with members making directed donation to the garden. Most of the photos are self-explanatory; however, the photo that looks like a cotton ball is a seed pod that has opened. Each seed has a silky filament that carries the seed on the wind.”

To view the photos, click HERE and when you get to Voice of Canals, click on the Monarch butterfly on the Welcome Page.