Listening to a news blurb in 2018, Cindy Leonard couldn't believe what she heard. "It was a story about the decline of the monarch butterfly," she recalled. The story detailed how the lack of milkweed, the sole food source for monarch caterpillars, had led to a 90% decline in monarchs over the last 20 years. "I have a quarter-mile lane on my property, and at the time, it was lined with milkweed," she said. "I went outside and looked, and there was really none left. I was astonished because I was so oblivious. This had happened without me noticing."
Since hearing that story, Leonard has focused her efforts on helping the monarch butterfly. As the owner of Milkweed 4 Monarchs in Elizabethtown, she grows 38 species of milkweed and offers both seeds and plants for sale, encouraging others to grow the plants at their homes.
"Milkweed is something anyone can grow," she stated. "Even if you don't own land, you can grow it on a pot on your deck."
A lifelong gardener, Leonard remembers playing with milkweed pods as a child. "I never really gave the plant any thought," she said. "I was familiar with common milkweed. It was all around, growing everywhere." After learning about the plight of the monarch, she discovered that Pennsylvania has 11 native milkweed species and that there are 115 species throughout the United States. While she sells plants and seeds locally, she also ships seeds across the country, hoping to offer native species to people coast to coast.
At her home, she grows milkweed with flowers in a variety of colors and offers a milk jug greenhouse kit, complete with seeds, soil and instructions. From mid-May through June 1, she holds an annual milkweed plant sale, and she offers milkweed garden tours during the last two weeks of June. In July, customers receive a free monarch caterpillar with a milkweed plant purchase. From September through the spring months, she offers milkweed seeds for sale. She keeps her prices low because of her desire to get milkweed into the gardens of as many people as possible. She also enjoys educating customers about the importance of milkweed.
"People don't understand how important milkweed is for the monarch population," she stated. "The adult butterflies can get nectar from any flower, but the baby caterpillars can only eat milkweed. If there's no milkweed, there won't be any more monarchs. ... I think any time we're looking at a species that is declining to the point of extinction, we should all care."
Despite the global impact on the monarchs, Leonard emphasizes that the issue has a local solution, and she encourages everyone to help.
"If we all grow milkweed, we can make a difference, one milkweed plant at a time," she remarked.
Leonard's milkweed farm is located at 8741 Elizabethtown Road. It's open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays or by appointment at other times. For more information on Milkweed 4 Monarchs, visit http://www.milkweed4monarchs.org or call 717-367-9656.
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