Myles5

The St. Regis Bird & Butterfly Garden

What do pink and green Zinnias, red Salvia and Purple Coneflower have in common?  They are all favorite nectar flowers of the beautiful butterflies Myles Beckley so loved.  Junior Kindergarten students in Myles' school had a mission to create a Bird and Butterfly Garden to honor Myles, so they began by planting those special seeds in paper cups on April 17, 2008. They put them in a sunny windowsill to wait and see what would happen…  With any luck the seeds would germinate in 6 - 10 days; then the kids could nurture the tiny plants until May when they would be big enough to move to their new garden outside.

As it turned out, no "luck" was required.  Only four days after the seeds were lovingly patted down into their soil, they had not only germinated, but to the children's amazement had grown into inch-tall plants! 

On Monday morning, May 26th, Myles' schoolmates and their families knelt on the warm earth and carefully tucked the small, strong seedlings into their garden, just outside the school doors on Lincoln Road.  To add to the beauty of the garden, and to the banquet for the butterflies, the Grounds Beautification folks led by Beth Kinna, Megan McCarthy, and JK parents added Cosmos, Butterfly weed, blue Salvia and Marigolds.  The Annabelle Hydrangea and Dwarf Bleeding Heart, already in the garden, grew an inch that very day.

And Mrs. Beckley gave each student a special gift bag filled with cherished toys and books that were owned and loved by Myles.

In this picture of Myles, he is holding his hand out to us and there sits a newly-hatched Monarch Butterfly.  In his face we see the wonder and joy that butterflies should bring to us all.  He says, "Look!"

Whenever you are blessed with a glimpse of these gorgeous creatures stop and look, and know that Myles Beckley is nearby and his smile is shining down with the sun.