LOS ANGELES — Barbara Lawson was only 24 years old when her mother died.
“She suffered from adult onset diabetes,” Lawson said. “She had to have both legs amputated and died of a heart attack at the age of 55.
“She was my best friend,” Lawson added, saying her mother’s death caused her to spiral into a deep depression that lasted for 20 years.
“The depression wouldn’t go away,” said Lawson, an artist and the mother of four. “I saw a therapist every Saturday, and then I would wander into my backyard garden and literally place my hands in the dirt.”
Lawson quickly found out that gardening brought about a soothing effect that gradually helped her to heal from her grief.
“I created a healing garden,” said Lawson, noting that gardening helped rid herself of stress, allowing her to escape and relax. She found that being among the trees and plants filled her with a sense of comfort.
“I was able to reconnect with my mother — recalling the perfume she used to wear and the type of things she liked to cook — like lamb chops.”
Lawson knew that the healing properties of gardening therapy sessions could help others suffering with the grief of losing a loved one and founded a nonprofit she called Meet Me in the Dirt to offer an array of services including grief counseling, gardening basics, garden design and installation services, a meeting rental space for gatherings, book clubs and a space for women’s groups.
“People love the name Meet Me in the Dirt,” Lawson said. “I get asked about it all the time.”
Lawson expanded her business by securing a space at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, where she holds therapy sessions and urges clients to write their thoughts in a journal. Then she urges them to pick out plants at the venue that “call their names.”
“Imagine therapy while playing in the dirt,” Lawson said. “It’s typically filled with tears, with laughter, reflection, change.”
To reach more people, she bought a mobile bus and named it The Oasis, a plant boutique and wellness retreat which is available for hire for private events, corporate wellness programs, conferences and training sessions.
It also is available for Celebration of Life ceremonies, where loved ones and family members can rent a space and reminisce about their deceased loved ones by playing their favorite music, introducing their favorite perfume or cologne, showing off their favorite outfits, serving their favorite foods or recalling favorite stories.
Lawson’s organization attracts clients from across the country.
One of them is Natasha Pyfrom, a family physician who flew from South Carolina to California with five friends to attend a Lawson retreat.
“I was inspired [at the retreat] and grew closer to my relationship with God,” said Pyfrom, who added that the group also talked about their future goals. “I realized that I have a special purpose in life.
“Traumas among the group came up and Barbara, who is also a spiritual person, was able to soothe the pain. I walked away from the retreat feeling rejuvenated and inspired.”
Pyfom flew home with several plants purchased from Lawson which she still tends to today.
“The retreat was inspiring,” Pyfrom said. “When I got home, it helped me to relate to my patients better. I realized that when I am personally in ‘good soil,’ I can help to be a balm to them.
“I also realized that you have to transition the way a plant transitions in life,” she said.
Linda Cook, a librarian at El Camino College in Torrance, said that she and her family attended a Meet Me in the Dirt event at the South Bay Galleria where they reminisced about their father, who died from congestive heart failure.
“Dad was one of the most patient, loving people I’ve ever met,” Cook said.
The loss of their father filled Cook and her sister with unrelenting grief.
“To forget the pain, we buried ourselves in our work,” she said.
“But at Meet Me in the Dirt, digging our hands in the soil made us pause and reflect. It helped us to soothe the pain,” Cook added.
“Barbara has a beautiful and lovely spirit,” Cook said. “She meets people where they are and just lets people talk. Her concept of using horticulture to make analogies is special and unique.”
Cook said that she realized the similarities between life and plants.
“There are times in our lives when we need to start over and learn how to replant,” she said. “We have to be patient and water those seeds in order to nurture them.”
“Grief counseling is an opportunity to explore your feelings and memories without judgment,” said Lawson, who often hugs clients who are shedding tears over the death of a loved one. Lawson is now a certified grief counselor and holds a masters degree in social work.
“No loss is too big or too small to warrant report,” she said. “You do not have to endure your grief alone.”
Shirley Hawkins is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at shirleyhawkins700@gmail.com.
