Grow Write Guild #27: Loss, Attachment & Letting Go

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Just the other day I wrote about the hit my garden took this year as a result of an unusually harsh winter. As spring progressed, I watched a number of particularly beaten plants closely for signs of life or recovery. As April turned to May and the time for recovery was well passed its due date I discovered that I had begun avoiding making the final call on specific plant. I had formed attachments that I didn’t even know I had.

Loss is a normal and common occurrence in the life of any garden, regardless of the care or expertise of its gardener. Yesterday as I dug up the dead plants and committed their lifeless bodies to the compost bin, I thought a lot about how in its own small way, gardening can serve as a gentler preparation or practice ground for exponentially bigger losses that are an inevitable part of being alive.

Grow Write Guild Prompt #27: Write on the themes of loss, attachment, and/or letting go.

The Grow Write Guild is a creative writing club for people who love to garden. Everyone is welcome to participate! Click over to the Grow Write Guild FAQ to learn more about it.

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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4 thoughts on “Grow Write Guild #27: Loss, Attachment & Letting Go”

  2. Thanks for prompting this. I wasn’t going to post anything on my blog about my tomato tragedy, because I didn’t want to sound whiny, but the point is to share our stories, the good and the bad, right? Although after listening to your podcast with Mr. Brown Thumb I don’t think I can call this a tragedy compared to having kids who had been shot at in your yard, and having to wonder if any stray bullets could hit you yourself.

    http://rabbitsandradishes.blogspot.com/2014/05/grow-write-guild-27-loss-and-letting-go.html

  3. Great post Evangeline! It’s so hard to lose starts and I can definitely relate. This week was a tough one, but I think it’s a great topic. Thanks for getting us writing Gayla. My post ended up being primarily text, but definitely brought up some feelings that I have about gardening “success”.

    http://blackberryburrow.com/?p=929

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