This workshop provides a series of 2-3 hour sessions on successive weekends in which we use therapeutic horticulture - gardening therapy - to help participants better manage grieving. It is for people who have experienced the death of a spouse, child, sibling, close partner, or lifelong friend. It is not for people who have experienced other loss, like a divorce, or death of a pet.
Attendees will find that it is a 'safe cry-zone' in which we will share experiences and explore how gardening can help reframe loss and provide a series of outdoor practices that can help mitigate grief. Gardens and plants have a long history of being associated with healing. The goal is not to offer a quick fix - which is impossible - but to offer a location in which physical activity and the processes inherent in gardening can help us build a bridge through our grief.
We are sorry for your loss. The person leading the workshop has been through this and has direct personal experience of just how traumatic grief can be; and, how gardening can help.
The sessions will include:
- Composting
- Tools
- Making potting soil
- Starting seed
- Pruning and planting cuttings
- Survivor guilt
All of the sessions will include mindfulness practices such as meditative weeding. During some seasons, seed saving will also be covered.
Groups are limited to six people. Pricing for the entire workshop series will be posted at the signup form. The cost of the workshop covers all materials. Most sessions, attendees will take home items from the workshops, for example, a tray/flat of cuttings or other items. Additionally, attendees will be given a username and password for this site in which additional resources can be obtained and downloaded.
If you have experienced the loss of a loved one, we are deeply sorry for you and we hope that this workshop will help you. But when new workshops are posted, please first read our FAQs before signing up to avoid disappointment because the workshop is not a good fit for you.
