Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden
A one-acre jungle garden hidden in the middle of Key West, tended by a single woman for over 50 years, full of rescued parrots who will land on your shoulder.
Nancy Forrester has been tending her one-acre garden in the middle of Key West since the 1970s. The property is a dense subtropical jungle — native trees, tropical plants, and a canopy that blocks out the sky — tucked behind a residential street a few blocks from Duval. It is the most biodiverse private garden in Key West, and it is open to the public for a small admission fee.
The garden is home to a rotating population of rescued parrots — macaws, cockatoos, African greys — that live free-range in the canopy. They will land on you. They will talk to you. Several of them have been with Nancy for decades.
Nancy is an artist and environmental activist who has spent her career fighting to preserve Key West's tree canopy and natural character. The garden is both her home and her life's work. Visiting it feels like stepping into someone's private world — which it is. The parrots are the main attraction, but the garden itself is extraordinary: a pocket of genuine wildness in the middle of a tourist town.
Located at 1 Free School Lane, Key West (off Simonton Street). Open daily; hours vary — call ahead or check the website. Small admission fee. The garden is easy to miss — look for the small sign on Free School Lane. Wear comfortable shoes; the paths are uneven. The parrots are friendliest in the morning.