"We have hundreds of volunteers making this possible!"
– Ashley Wardlow
Transformation
“We’re, first and foremost, an educational
organization,” Ashley Wardlow, Executive Director of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks explained as we walked the butterfly pathway to their Butterfly Garden.
As our walk began, person after person came up to Ashley to speak with her about something an idea they were excited about. They were all volunteers who were clearly, deeply and personally
invested in this garden. Ashley greeted each one personally with a broad smile, and gave them her full attention as she listened. Her smile never wavered.
“We have hundreds of volunteers making this possible!”
As we arrived at the Butterfly House I spotted a little basket, on a small side table, at the entrance. There were small plastic bags, each containing a butterfly or a chrysalis. The bags had been placed there with great care.
“What are these?” I asked.
“We host more than 6,000 students on field trips each year,” Ashley replied. “The students and others in our community scour the area gathering them. Then, they bring them here to be placed in the Butterfly House, where they’re safe and can transform. In the early summer, the chrysalis emerges as a butterfly. It is the most magical place then and for the rest of the summer! The butterflies are happy and thrive here, because of nectar
producing plants we have inside the house.”
After spending a few minutes of enjoyment, absorbing the wonders of the Butterfly House, we headed back to the hubbub of their Chefs in the Garden event; a showcase and competition between some of the region’s best chefs and their restaurants. It’s the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks annual spring fund raiser.
So, soon we walked the same butterfly pathway past a large butterfly sculpture, located on the south side of the path. And, once again a myriad of people came over to speak with Ashley.
“She is the embodiment of the butterfly pathway,” I said to myself. “She plants eggs with every conversation.”
Those eggs had transformed into individual chrysalis, who had changed into beautiful butterflies, who were now fluttering all around us, with beauty in their wings. They are the ones who had and will continue to transform the surrounding garden into something greater that plants, animals, and insect residents. They have created a flourishing community.
I was marveling at Ashley and the way she orchestrates all of it, through her joyful caring, listening and educating. Her work floats on butterfly wings and bedazzles with her beckoning smile.
“No one who comes here can leave without a smile and a heart filled
with happiness,” Ashley says.
I believe her and believe in her. She is the living inspiration of an amazing, ongoing transformation of nature and people.
____________________________________
I’m Lynn
Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join
you along your own unique path of discovery.
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