Pick a free bouquet, stay for the community at a flower garden on Butterfly Lane

DONEY PARK, Ariz. (AP) — For nearly two decades, Cindy Wilson’s home on Butterfly Lane was simply where she lived. Then she started planting flowers and it became a haven for her 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.

The original plan five years ago was to sell the 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.

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.

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.

A beige house with red trim sits at the center of Wilson's fenced property, beneath the rugged San Francisco Peaks. Around the house is a deck and some wooden playground equipment, and a grassy open area where visitors park. Then there’s the cottage-style garden with rows of blooms marked by hand-painted wooden signs.

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.

When she retired in 2021, Wilson was looking for something to pass the 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. 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.

She learned how to garden by reading florists’ and gardeners’ tips on social media. She grew seedlings in her garage and some flowers in her yard, and even had a local florist interested in buying from her.

But then the natural disasters hit, forcing her to evacuate and destroying homes in neighboring areas. Her home was spared.

Her first “you pick” event was an invitation to people in Doney Park and Timberline, two communities northeast of Flagstaff that had been affected.

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.

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!”

Wilson’s property is aptly called the Garden House on Butterfly Lane, a name stamped on the kraft paper used to wrap the bouquets. Her neighbors help her run the events, which she promotes on social 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.

“When the flowers are ready, I invite people over,” says Wilson.

“I’ve opened six times this year to have people come out,” she adds. “That’s a lot for 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?”

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. The flowers are free, though visitors sometimes leave donations to help with the cost of keeping the garden growing.

With the arrival of fall , Wilson is getting ready to prune what’s left of the plants, fertilize the soil, lay down some straw and netting, and wait out the wintry weather. She has bought cool-season seeds to plant in the spring so they are ready to be picked next summer.

Now, she says, she looks out her kitchen window each morning at a rose growing nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. She doesn’t need to pick it, and will enjoy its presence until someone takes it home.

“Take the time to go outside. I just think that is so important. Put your hands in the dirt, pick a flower, look at the flower,” she said. “It’s a wonderful place to be.”