Inspired by this month’s issue of American Funeral Director.
memorial garden
Bleeding Hearts
A welcome sight in the early Spring garden. Bleeding Hearts are hardy and easy to grow (and toxic). My Bleeding Hearts have taken a lot of abuse over the years and still come back every season. The original plant in my garden has been split and divided several times and moved all about the property, been peed and trampled on by the A-Team, and still remained strong and beautiful.
They like light shade and can tolerate a heavy clay soil. Most are pink but occasionally you’ll see a white Bleeding Heart. By the end of summer, they stop blooming and turn a lime green. That’s when I cut ’em back.
The only problem? Slugs love em.
Inspiration
No time for diversions, but projects that have caught our eye of late:
This baby garden for small spaces. The artist used a cast-off wooden tray and does not recommend wood containers for YOUR fairy garden. It WILL ruin the furniture if you want a table top version. Note to self: Water plants.
In a desperate quest for something alive and green I bought two cat palms on clearance from you know where. They need a drink and some lovin.
Decorating the stump: My Stump, my stump, my ugly lovely rotten tree stump. It’s a Spring Ritual, the decorating of the stump. I’m ready to have it bored out. Dirtsister has been able to create some beauty there, but it will have to be reworked.
Add a stone song bird obliesk. Hate that word btw. Obliesk. Can’t spell or say it.
And maybe some garden gnomes. And turtles. Love turtles and gnomes.
Here’s another idea we like: Custom Tassles for personalization on glass and metal urns. Is it too foo-foo? Will have to think on.
And then while we are on foo-foo textiles, I love this look as a shroud.
And finally: Life Lesson #22 From Rosie the Chihuahua DAWG
“Bless you, my child.”
Momma Tree in NYC
Fall is a great time to plant a seed or two, and city dwellers, I’m talking to you….YOU too can dedicate a tree, living plant, garden or sacred space in memory of your loved one.
Special thanks to CK, who has publicly shared her journey of the loss of her sweet momma.
Thanks to the boundless grace of many bloggers, my mother is now commemorated and honored in New York City with her own tree (for those new to my blog, my mother died suddenly 8 weeks ago). But it’s more than a tree. It’s a sanctuary. More than that, the tree has been planted in a park in Spanish Harlem which is in a part of the city that is a “BID” (Business Improvement District). So this beautiful act betters a community…which makes a whole lotta sense since the beauty of this community’s moving act betters me.
And if I feel down you know what I’m gonna do? Damn straight, I’m going to see my momma’s tree!
Fall Garden Greetings
While wandering about the garden and weaving our own web, we just about crashed through this work of art. Should have got a better angle on this, you could actually see the web shooting out of his blow hole!
Next, we want to show you a quick and easy example of a memorial garden we’ve done in a small side bed on the west side. And yes, we have weeds.
We’ve used the iron garden angel and a personalized garden memorial stone that can be customized with your choice of artwork and font styles. The pieces weather well, and are on a small enough scale to be discreet in your garden as well as easily relocated if needed.
For families that have chosen to scatter the ashes of a loved one or just want a special place to remember a special person or pet this is an easy and cost effective solution.
Fall is an excellent time to start your memorial garden.