For nearly two decades, Cindy Wilson’s home on Butterfly Lane was simply where she lived.
asserted
she → live → Lane
Then she started planting flowers and it became a haven for her neighborhood.
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it → start → neighborhood
What began as a hobby after retirement has grown into a garden oasis in northern Arizona, where people from near and far can wander the sprawling flower beds, fill a basket with blooms and take home a handpicked bouquet, for free.
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people → begin → bouquet
The original plan five years ago was to sell the flowers.
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plan → sell → flowers
But when her neighborhood was hit by wildfires and flooding before the summer bloom, Wilson discovered that the flowers’ real value was in giving them away.
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value → hit → them
She invited neighbors affected by the disasters to come pick, “hoping that I could just bring a bit of kindness and maybe a little joy,” she said.
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she → invite → kindness
Now, she aims to host weekly “you pick” events between late June and early September, opening the garden to the public, with the first pick of the year for neighbors only in honor of how she got started.
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she → aim → honor
It started with creating a garden
A beige house with red trim sits at the center of Wilson’s fenced property, beneath the rugged San Francisco Peaks.
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house → start → Peaks
Around the house is a deck and some wooden playground equipment, and a grassy open area where visitors park.
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visitors → park → house
Wilson, 69, spoke with The Associated Press as she walked through her nearly 3-acre property, pulling weeds, adjusting signs and tending to the plants.
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she → speak → plants
When she retired in 2021, Wilson was looking for something to pass the time.
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Wilson → retire → time
Her six children had moved out, her husband had died, and she spent many slow mornings with her dog, Remi, dreaming of planting her own garden.
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she → move → garden
When she volunteered for a florist on Valentine’s Day, she decided she wanted to share the happiness that flowers could bring by starting her own business.
uncertain
flowers → volunteer → business
She learned how to garden by reading florists’ and gardeners’ tips on social media.
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She → learn → media
She grew seedlings in her garage and some flowers in her yard, and even had a local florist interested in buying from her.
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florist → grow → her
But then the natural disasters hit, forcing her to evacuate and destroying homes in neighboring areas.
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disasters → hit → areas
Her home was spared.
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home → spar → ?
Her first “you pick” event was an invitation to people in Doney Park and Timberline, two communities northeast of Flagstaff that had been affected.
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that → pick → Flagstaff
A bell tells neighbors when it’s ‘pick-it time’
One of Wilson’s neighbors, 70-year-old Mary Walton, has lived next door for 15 years, so she has seen the garden comfort residents and bring visitors smiles over the years.
“I’ve watched her grow every single one of these flowers from a little seed,” Walton said, adding that her neighbor transformed her home into a “secret garden,” even though it’s not so secret anymore.
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it → tell → garden
Now, Walton says she hears the garden bell from her home across the street, usually pulled by excited children visiting the garden with their family members, which signals “it’s pick-it time!”
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it → say → it
The garden has blossomed into something more
Wilson’s property is aptly called the Garden House on Butterfly Lane, a name stamped on the kraft paper used to wrap the bouquets.
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property → blossom → bouquets
Her neighbors help her run the events, which she promotes on social media.
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she → help → media
She says dozens of people come, including families with small children, students at nearby Northern Arizona University and travelers passing through the Grand Canyon state.
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dozens → say → state
“When the flowers are ready, I invite people over,” says Wilson.
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Wilson → invite → people
“I’ve opened six times this year to have people come out,” she adds.
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she → open → ?
“That’s a lot for me.”
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That → ’ → me
But watching visitors’ reactions — a woman debating whether the yellow of some petals matches her living room, a young boy pointing out a bright orange flower to his mother — Wilson smiles and says, “How could I not do it?”
uncertain
I → watch → it
She and her friends and neighbors greet visitors with shears and wicker baskets, many collected from Goodwill, and send them into the garden with simple instructions: Cut low and take 15 stems.
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many → greet → stems
The flowers are free, though visitors sometimes leave donations to help with the cost of keeping the garden growing.
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visitors → leave → garden
Going outside and appreciating nature is what it’s about
With the arrival of fall, Wilson is getting ready to
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Wilson → go → fall
prune what’s left of the plants, fertilize the soil, lay down some straw and netting, and wait out the wintry weather.
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what → prune → weather
She has bought cool-season seeds to plant in the spring so they are ready to be picked next summer.
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they → buy → spring
Now, she says, she looks out her kitchen window each morning at a rose growing nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.
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she → say → rose
She doesn’t need to pick it, and will enjoy its presence until someone takes it home.
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someone → need → it
I just think that is so important.
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that → think → ?
Put your hands in the dirt, pick a flower, look at the flower,” she said.
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she → put → flower
“It’s a wonderful place to be.”
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It → ’ → ?
The Aporia
