I just heard my mom tell my brother, “when you die, you will go outside and garden until your father says you’re done” and it took me a second to realize that my brother was playing a videogame and this was not a theological discussion.
Purgatory
The Garden of Death
Watercolor and gouache by Hugo Simberg, 1896
“Gone outside to garden” is a strangely affecting euphemism for death.
[ID: A sepia-toned painting showing three skeletons in monks’ robes tending to raised garden beds. Each of the beds has drawings of potted plants on them. One of the skeletons has its back turned, one is walking with a watering can, and the third is hugging s srig of forget-me-nots. end ID.]






















