I had no real plan when I bought the three-pack of Canada Anemones. I had been wanting to add more native plants to my yard, to make it more attractive to bees, birds, and butterflies, but I didn’t have any particular species in mind. By the time I got around to placing an order, the nursery had already sold out of most of its spring planting stock, so my options were limited.

Fortunately, there are no bad options when it comes to wildflowers! I made several selections and waited for them to arrive. As soon as I saw the Canada Anemones, I fell in love with them: star-shaped white flowers against feathery foliage of deep green. Not sure where they would be happiest, I planted two at the edge of my patio and one down the hill.

By the following summer, the Canada Anemones had made their preference clear: the two plants near the patio were spreading. Tender shoots stretched outward, and a canopy of feathery leaves unfurled. A year later and that formerly barren corner of my yard had grown lush. A green wave of anemone plants swept around the milkweeds, turtleheads, and spiderworts I had also planted near the patio. Numerous little pollinators visited the wildflowers, and I reveled in all the wonderful life so close to our home.

Each year since, the Canada Anemones have expanded their reach a little farther, yielding more white stars in spring, more feathery green leaves throughout the summer.

I was out admiring them one morning in late May of this year, when my dog, Luke, began wagging his tail and sniffing at the edge of the flower bed. To my surprise, he then waded into the anemones, which came up to his shoulders. He looked up, smiling a doggie smile, surrounded by a halo of delicate white flowers. He looked so beautiful that I wanted to run for my camera, but a growing suspicion held me back. Luke has never been much of a flower connoisseur; something else had drawn him into the anemone bed.

Just then, I saw movement among the flower stems. A hopping motion, made by some small creature. “A toad!” I thought excitedly. “We have a garden toad!” Not wanting Luke to chase our new neighbor, I grabbed his collar—and not a moment too soon!—as the true source of the hopping tumbled out of the anemones. It was not a toad, but three tiny baby bunnies, barely the size of hamsters. Their mother had made her nest among the anemone plants, which was why Luke had taken such a sudden interest in gardening.

I hauled him indoors and went off to work, leaving the rabbit family in peace. I didn’t think I would see them again. Now that their haven had been breached, I thought they might move elsewhere. But that evening, I saw a soft little shape nudging about the edge of the patio. As I watched (from indoors), the baby bunny poked around, exploring the world beyond its nest, then disappeared once more into the anemones. To the little creature, those plants were like a forest.

I kept watching, my zoom lens handy, Luke barred safely indoors. Several moments later, two of the babies hopped out onto the lawn, while the third stayed back in the anemone bed. Mama Rabbit soon joined her two more adventurous babies. At times, she checked on them, sniffing them in what looked like a kiss. More often, she grazed while the youngsters explored.

Hopping was such hard work for their little legs that the babies finally grew hungry. They returned to their mother, crawled beneath her protective form, and began to nurse. Through my camera, I could see their tiny feet kicking, their eyelids closed in peace and contentment. All was right with their world—and with mine.

A moment like that couldn’t last, of course. The sun was setting, and it was nearly time for the rabbit family to bed down for the night.

Would I see them again, in the morning? I didn’t know. I also didn’t know if a mother rabbit would ever again nest in my Canada Anemone bed. In nature, nothing is certain. Nothing is guaranteed. But at the same time, anything is possible.

A magical moment might be just around the corner: a happy accident in a garden light on plans but filled with hope.