Jean LeBlanc
Newton, New Jersey

Swallowtails, fritillaries, skippers, painted ladies, red admirals, hairstreaks, monarchs – I'm always running upstairs for my butterfly field guide (I'm
thinking of buying a copy to keep in the garage). A dewy morning highlights orb weds and funnel webs amidst the flower stalks, home to spiders of every
shape and size. I've stopped trying to identify the countless species of beetles, flies, and wasps.

I am learning to garden with nature, not against it. Several years ago, while strolling in a botanical garden, I noted that the annual beds, while lovely, were as silent as museums. The perennials, however, buzzed with pollinating insects and hummingbirds – native perennials especially so.

Purple coneflowers are the center of my gardening universe, thanks to my friend Sheryl, who gave me some from her garden. Black-eyed susans, liatris, milkweeds, goldenrod, and beebalm are some of the other native species that line my yard. I can't resist a few non-natives and annuals such as hosta,
daylilies, phlox, nasturtiums, morning glories, and sunflowers. But if I could have only one species of flower in my garden, it would be purple coneflowers. "Make less lawn for me to mow," my husband George says each spring. In my mind's eye, I see acres and acres of purple coneflowers beneath a cloud of butterflies.

We have less than an acre of land on a busy main street in town, but I can still dream big.

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