Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

memorial garden

Memorial Stones and Fall Planting

Fall is an excellent time to plant a tree as a living memorial for a loved one. Even apartment dwellers can adopt and beautify a blighted urban area or possibly a park area. (Contact local officials in your area) We’ve assisted many schools that have planned tree planting memorials for students and faculty.

Depending on the zone you live in Fall planting is best in mild climates. Weather conditions are cool and allow plants to establish roots in the new location before spring rains and summer heat stimulate new top growth.

A popular choice for a memorial planting is the Weeping Cherry tree. These stunning ornamental trees are generally pest and disease resistant and don’t require a lot of pruning. Pair your new planting with a memorial stone and you’ll have created a beautiful living tribute to honor your loved one.

Examples of memorial stones that some of our families have chosen:

This style is one of the most popular and can be personalized with artwork and a custom message.

The heart-shaped memorial stones are an inexpensive option: Less than $40.00

The river rock garden stones also do well and can be personalized with custom message and artwork.

All of our stones can sustain harsh winters and usually ship within a week after ordering.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

Charter Members of the Widow’s Club

Urn Garden was inspired by the women in my life that have been left behind, by their husbands and partners. My grandmother, Etta Mae was the first founding member. She’s the developer of the memorial garden concept that inspired this project. Etta lost Gene in 1995 to cancer after 50 plus years of marriage. A lot of history there, plus four kids. A year later, she lost her first born son. And now in her 80’s, she still rocks my world.

And then my girls: Three girlfriends- all widows before age 35. Within a two year period. All with young kids.

Donna was the first. She lived in an isolated area on 600 acres in Cherokee Nation, with her hub, two kids, goats, donkeys, five dogs, and few cats. Her husband, Jeff was killed in a car accident in 1996.

In 1997, my old roommate Jan (who’s BFF with Donna) was in the process of ending her marriage after 10 years and two little girls. It was rocky, and her husband wasn’t going quietly, he’d been stalking Jan and calling me at work trying to make sense of it all. On a Wednesday afternoon he called my office, clearly distraught, I knew I’d have to tell him that these therapy sessions were over. As the weekend neared, Jan was a little wary because she hadn’t heard from him and it was his weekend to have the girls. On Saturday morning, she journeyed to his place with kids in tow, and knew driving over, this would not be a good scene.

His car was there, but no signs of activity. She left the kids in the car and went inside. The house was dark and quiet. He was asleep on the bed. With a bullet in his head.

In 1998, Susan joined this sad club. She was left with a three year old son and no family in the area. Her talented artist husband shot himself at the end of December. JP was the one that dropped the bomb. He had to tell me three times, because I couldn’t grasp the message. I’m surprised he didn’t slap my face to snap me out of it. Not a Happy New Year.

Happily, with the exception of Etta, the girls have moved on, re-married and re-built their lives. None of these ladies have blogs, websites, or a crippling internet addiction. But because of that connection, we’ll use this space to introduce you to a few recent members of the club that no one wants to join.

Ghost Bike Memorials

ghost bike

Supposedly, this is the first Ghost Bike, memorializing an accident on Holly Hills Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. It was created by Patrick Van Der Tuin who saw a cyclist hit by a car. A few days later, he and his friends locked up several bikes at locations where he knew cars had collided with cyclists.

A Ghostbike is a junker bike that has been painted stark white and affixed to the site where a cyclist has been hit or killed by a car driver. Ghostbikes are intended to be memorials for the fallen and reminders to everyone to SHARE THE ROAD with one another. Since that first memorial in St. Louis, the meme has spread nationwide.

ghost bike

I’ve never seen one here in the Ozarks, and I hope I never do. But in densely populated areas like St. Louis, Portland, and New York City there seems to be more Ghost Bike sightings.

Check out this wild ride!

Today’s Tip: Ride Safe and Share the Road!

 

Butterfly Memorial Garden

butterfly

We’ve had several schools call that are doing memorial gardens on the grounds. Tree dedication stones for a couple of kids that lost their dads. And today? A memorial stone to place in a butterfly garden to honor one of the teacher’s who’s lost a child.

The client didn’t want anything that looked too “cemetery-ish”.

butterfly garden

A personalized river rock tucked in beside a butterfly bush is a lovely lasting tribute.