“Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing," Dolly Parton once sang, and we wholeheartedly agree. However, we also believe that you can either wait around it, or get off your ass and make it happen. In the case of butterflies, that would involve turning your garden into a butterfly heaven, filling it with flowering plants and shrubs that attract these 'self-propelled flowers'. Butterflies spread love, quite literally: as pollinators they support our food supply and ecosystem. But as fluttering reminders of the fleeting beauty of life, they are also wonderful for our mental health. In many cultures, butterflies are tied to the female experience of transformation, like in Japan, where they symbolize the transition from girlhood to womanhood. To sit in your butterfly garden and witness the insect's four distinctly different stages - egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult - can be a powerful healing experience for any woman going through any type of change. As Maya Angelou put it so beautifully: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Amen! So, what if you have created your butterfly heaven, but the winged beauties haven't shown up yet? Don't worry and enjoy your gorgeous garden. Just look at it; you made that! Even Dolly can't think of a better metaphor for self-love.

"Don't waste your time chasing butterflies.
Mend your garden, and the butterflies will come."
- Mário Quintana