Death awareness is also, of course, an awareness of life. Being mortal is a process of birth, creation, regeneration, and death. Caring for plants is one example of that process and sharing plants is an active demonstration of being part of the life and legacy on our planet.
Join us on November 9 from 10am to noon for a plant swap activity. Bring cuttings, seeds, sprouts, or bulbs from plants in your home or garden to give to others, and bring home these living legacies from others. By the end of the day we will all have been connected through living things with one another and with the many ways these living things have established themselves and prospered as they moved to be spread by us.
Cemetery staff person, Kennedy Simpson, and Laura Lyster-Mensh, the death doula in residence, will offer snacks and help you label and share your offerings. Laura is a gardener at the cemetery and will be very happy to answer your questions about the cemetery gardens and Adopt-A-Plot volunteer program.
NOTES:
Let’s exercise care in sharing by bringing our healthy plants without signs of disease or pests. If you bring plants for outdoor planting try to make them either native plants or non-invasive.* Bring containers from home to transport your adopted plants so we can avoid waste. Come with the story of your offerings: where they came from, what environment they thrive in, memories?
And this: when we leave, let’s share our vision with each other for how we will each bring these living things into our lives and share them into the future out in the world. Let’s return home from the cemetery with gratitude and the sense of legacy and community we carry in these living things.
*If you’re not sure, we’ll help you look up and learn about your plant!