My Butterfly Bush

In the fall of 2001 when my kids and I moved into our house, Francis, my elderly neighbor across the street, came over to tell me I needed to cut my butterfly bush down to at least 12 inches. It was so tall and beautiful, it didn't seem right to cut it at all. She said she would have cut it herself, but thought she had better ask first.

So her being older and much wiser than I, I cut it down every fall. It never grew to be as tall as it was when I first moved in. I thought maybe I was doing something wrong.

She was like that -- always watching out for us. She would always report to me if she saw anything suspicious out her kitchen window. I had the kids go get her a few times to catch bats that had sneaked into our upstairs. She used to leave snack cakes on the door with a sticky note that said, "Brush your teeth!" until she couldn't get up the steps very well. But she would still give candy to anyone who knocked on her door.

Francis became very sick and died a few months ago and do you know that butterfly bush grew to be about 7 feet tall this year.