Story and Photography By Samantha Bean

June 13, 2025

In a world that moves fast. Faster wifi, faster cars, speed cycles on washing machines and a society that claims “Oh, I’m good, I’m just so busy.” We seem to have only time to grab a plant at that big box store that is already speedily in bloom and place it on our front doorstep. Slap our hands together in proclamation of accomplishment. It’s all we have time for. Then come fall, it is time to replace that. And then spring comes and we head back to the store in our hurried state and buy something else. But that is simple plant consumerism to fill a box on our to do list as well as our doorstep. Maybe there’s a different way.

When you garden for wildlife, it requires a much less hurried pace. One simple plant of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the ground is an entirely different experience. You get to watch this plant poke through the ground, a fraction of an inch a day. You get to watch it feed the entire life cycle of a monarch butterfly. And later on come fall, you watch birds land on its dried stem. And you see the seed pods split open in a theatrical display as tiny little floofs of white are attached to a seed. And you admire its simple patience. Next spring, you get to see where it decided to reseed itself and grow more. A flower that teaches us the power of resilience and being in the moment. Not rushing off to buy the next blooming thing for the season. With a native plant / habitat garden, you get a chance to not be busy. And just be. That is so magical!

While the flap of butterfly’s wing is as delicate as a dandelion on a windy day, I feel as though the simple act of seeing an entire season of a growing plant has immense power. Small changes having large effects is the essence of the butterfly effect, and while I’m not a scientist, I do feel something magical in my garden when it comes to the tiny orange flowers that are coming into their own right about now. Anxiously awaiting a butterfly whose arrival is perfectly timed.