Living Connections: Continuing Bonds Between the Living and the Deceased in Rural Northeastern Slovenia

The article explores the role of plants in mediating ongoing bonds between the living and the deceased. Drawing on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork in a rural region of northeastern Slovenia, this study focuses on three personal narratives where individuals maintain connections with deceased loved ones through plants. These natural objects – daffodils, a blooming cactus and magnolia trees – serve as material manifestations of the deceased, offering comfort, continuity and a sense of presence. Using the continuing bonds grief model (Klass & Silverman & Nickman 1996) as a theoretical foundation, the article examines how these bonds transcend traditional bereavement practices, creating everyday spaces for relational continuity. The article argues that plants act as living bridges between the living and the dead, transforming the understanding of grief into a relational process that fosters enduring connections within broader cultural and natural frameworks.