Child loss, garden, garden photos, gardens, Mental Health

Creating the Peace Garden: Honoring Loss and Hope

I will design and build a rose garden inspired by Jackie Kennedy's White House Rose Garden as it was before a concrete pad replaced the lawn.

Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Child loss, garden, garden photos

Grief: Past the Days of the Anglerfish to Nemo

Grief will change you in ways you never expect. Some say grief is an ocean. A truth exists in this extended metaphor. In the beginning—and sometimes for longer—you live in the ebony depths of the ocean where only the best cameras capture pictures of its creations. Some friends drop off because the depths are too… Continue reading Grief: Past the Days of the Anglerfish to Nemo

Bereaved Parents, Child loss, flowers, garden, garden photos, gardens, Life, Loss, Mental Health, Photography, Photos

How Gardening Eases Mental Health Struggles

When we face an injury or illness, we hope the doctor will ease the pain or cure it. But, with mental health struggles, sometimes there is not a cure. There is only something to ease the pain.

Advocacy, autism, children, Communication, Education, Family, garden photos, inspiration, Life

Ready, Set, Match

I love my son more than anything in the world. To support a dangerous ideology, which would seek to dehumanize children, teens, and adults like my son is not and never will be right. There is not a right or left-winged news station quote. The source material for me to cite is in my own flesh and blood.

flowers, garden, garden photos, gardens, inspiration, Photography, Photos

Winter Progress in the Gardens

Throughout the winter, I have focused on the Winter Garden of Arendelle, while adding evergreens, conifers, and winter interest plants in other gardens, too. When I look at the gardens, I want to see color year round.

Child loss, garden, garden photos, gardens, Life, nature, TikTok Video

If TikTok Says Goodbye

Now the cat's bell jingles in the hallway, as he hopes I will open the door to Corrie's room where he spent much of his kitten time. Where there should be the sound of a 10-year-old girl telling me to leave her room, the wind rustles the last of the brown leaves on the trees.

garden, garden photos, gardens, nature

New Year, No Dig, Still Here

Most of the story of the work towards the latest no dig areas, specifically in our Wall Garden, is told through pictures and video.

Blogging, garden, garden photos, gardens, Photos, TikTok Video

All the Garden Favorites I’ve Loved Before

During the holiday season, I put up 10 luminaries at the back of the Arendelle Garden with evergreens I have planted throughout 2024 honoring our daughter Corrie's tenth birthday on December 10. In the time between Christmas and the New Year when it pours rain outside, snow covers your driveway, or all of the wintry… Continue reading All the Garden Favorites I’ve Loved Before

Advocacy, bereavement, Child loss, Family, garden photos, Holiday, inspiration, Life, Loss, Mental Health, Photography, TikTok Video

Ways to Support those Grieving during the Holidays

The way we grieve is personal. An accepted fact about grief is that everyone grieves differently. What seems the hardest to understand is how people grieving is denormalized in society, and how we are sometimes ousted from some relationships when we unveil our grief. In our early stages of grief, maybe we feel shock, mourn,… Continue reading Ways to Support those Grieving during the Holidays

garden, garden photos, gardens, inspiration, Photography, Photos, TikTok Video

More than Gardening

This raised bed makes the experience more than just gardening.