I Was Drowning in Grief Until I Found This One Trick: ‘Something Beautiful Will Rise’

Suffering from grief, Barbara Lawson planted a garden that brought her comfort. She soon began teaching about the healing powers of gardening! Here, she shares her story with Woman’s World.

Barbara Lawson drove back to her Los Angeles home from another counseling session, still hearing her therapist’s words running through her mind.

“Try activities that have brought you joy in the past, such as gardening,” she suggested.

Nothing else had worked to release the pain Barbara had trapped inside since her mother’s passing.

Losing her brother when she was 16, then her father at 18, her mother’s death when Barbara was 24 hit hard.

To cope, she began to block out the memories and spent every moment caring for her husband and four kids. It got her by, but now, two decades later, she realized she missed thinking of her mom and hearing her voice.

Could it be as easy as going back to planting to heal these wounds I’ve carried for so long? her aching spirit wondered.

Gardening Helped Her Process Years of Grief

Every Saturday after her therapy session, Barbara began working in her backyard.

Spending hours in the dirt, she began to feel at peace, and she had thriving plants.

Excited about how gardening was transforming her grief, she began to share about her journey on Facebook. She also held live lessons online teaching people how to plant for bettering themselves, while also going back to school to get her Master’s Degree in Social Work with a specialization in grief.

Barbara soon launched her own business called Meet Me In The Dirt, a mental health and wellness organization that blends psychology, mindfulness and horticulture to promote healing and growth.

In 2021, she renovated an old bus to create a mobile garden oasis to travel about the community, holding pop-up events. Using a garden wellness retreat space, she has also gone on to host birthday parties, celebrations of life ceremonies and weddings.

Gardening Brings Hope to Others

Clients beam with joy as they share their experiences.

“I’ve learned to stand authentically in the new version of myself, growing in confidence,” shares one widow.

Another participant, a daughter who also lost her mother, stated, “Grief tended to in the garden provides tender rest from the pain.”

Knowing she has found a life-changing path, 53-year-old Barbara has no plans to slow down.

“Whether it be my mobile garden bus, garden retreat center or online garden, I will continue the hope-filled work of gardening and making room for what wants to live. By tending the soil and trusting in what you dig up, something honest and beautiful will rise.”