When we have to replant each year we not only keep our skills honed but learn from our previous mistakes and thus we grow right along with the new plant.
Thank you Maura for this very timely article. I have been sad and overwhelmed by the reality of my friends aging. A few of them, just like me are beginning to show signs of cognitive decline; memory loss,difficulty driving,newly confused with old information. Presence not preservation. How can I offer us all presence? Thank you..this has been my first coffee death contemplation and it was very helpful.
Watching the people you love change is one of the hardest things. The best we can do is exactly what you're already asking: how can I offer presence? Thank you for showing up here, and for your people.
Nature as a whole is a beautiful, brilliant reminder of our mortality, but you're right, there's something even more pointed about the wilted petal of a flower or the tower of its bloom.
I love that you're reminded of your mother as you're gardening. My mom's favorite flowers were yellow roses, which my dad planted in her memory after she died. Now, two years after he died, my sibling and I are selling his house, which is in a bit of state. But guess what's blooming taller than ever? The yellow roses.
Weird…non-subscribers are supposed to be able to read a few articles free every month. You could try googling the article online and see if it will let you in that way. If that doesn’t work, you can DM me your email and I can send it to you that way. Or I can try sending it on Messenger if you prefer. It’s worth reading for anyone who’s interested in his work.
When we have to replant each year we not only keep our skills honed but learn from our previous mistakes and thus we grow right along with the new plant.
Love this perspective!
Thank you Maura for this very timely article. I have been sad and overwhelmed by the reality of my friends aging. A few of them, just like me are beginning to show signs of cognitive decline; memory loss,difficulty driving,newly confused with old information. Presence not preservation. How can I offer us all presence? Thank you..this has been my first coffee death contemplation and it was very helpful.
Watching the people you love change is one of the hardest things. The best we can do is exactly what you're already asking: how can I offer presence? Thank you for showing up here, and for your people.
Maybe just try to be present. This helps me when I am sad about life and loss. But the present is all we have. Try to be there.
Nature as a whole is a beautiful, brilliant reminder of our mortality, but you're right, there's something even more pointed about the wilted petal of a flower or the tower of its bloom.
I love that you're reminded of your mother as you're gardening. My mom's favorite flowers were yellow roses, which my dad planted in her memory after she died. Now, two years after he died, my sibling and I are selling his house, which is in a bit of state. But guess what's blooming taller than ever? The yellow roses.
Thank you for another beautiful piece.
Love that. Don't forget to take a picture of the yellow roses! Maybe you can take some with you and replant. Not sure how that works with roses.
Maura, if you haven’t already seen it, you might appreciate this recent profile of Goldsworthy in The New Yorker: A Landscape Artist in Winter.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/a-landscape-artist-in-winter
Darn, can't read it because of the paywall.
Weird…non-subscribers are supposed to be able to read a few articles free every month. You could try googling the article online and see if it will let you in that way. If that doesn’t work, you can DM me your email and I can send it to you that way. Or I can try sending it on Messenger if you prefer. It’s worth reading for anyone who’s interested in his work.
Thank you!