Thanks so much for your kind words, Nora! It was such a lovely surprise to read your comment.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful story, Mary. What a gift for you, your friend, and your children to work hand-in-hand with the earth to create such meaningful memories. As spring comes around again here, I am inspired to plant a few seeds as a reminder of the power of dirt to heal so many sorrows. Thanks for posting this inspiring response.

Thanks for reading, Carrie!

Yes, the pressure-free environment of a garden is a superb place to work out plot kinks and delve into unexplored territory in my writing. I love the quiet demands the plants place on my patience as well. One day soon, I will have a jungle again!

Thanks for reading, Lara.

There are so many things about gardening that I should apply to other areas of my life but don’t, patience being the biggest by far! If things don’t work out this year then I graciously accept that there’s always next year. When it takes a few years for things to mature I accept that without question. If only I could apply that to real life. Watching the seasons is a wonderful thing, winter is a little dull admittedly but there’s the anticipation of spring and the excitement of seeing those first shoots. Once you get to summer there’s the sense of achievement from seeing your hard work in full bloom, knowing that you did this all by yourself. By autumn it’s sad that it’s coming to an end but there’s contentment in having seen the completion of a life cycle.

The great thing about gardening is that it’s a wonderful stress reducer. As a non thinking activity, you can hammer out the minutiae of plots and characters in a pressure free environment.

Thank you for sharing here, Tina. I love your reminder to honor the “seasons” in our writing lives.