memorial garden

Memorial Stones and Spring Gardens

May 20, 2013 urngarden.com

With the arrival of Spring, thoughts turn to the beauty of the blooming outdoors and the tasks of cleaning up flower beds and tidying up the lawn. Some of our clients are planning to reserve a small space in their gardens for a memorial stone to pay tribute to a loved one. One family chose to pair a memorial stone with a planting of daisies to commemorate an April birthday. Another client chose a natural river rock stone personalized with baseball artwork to honor a brother who loved the sport. In addition to high quality marble or granite, the river rock can be engraved with names, dates, and artwork to reflect hobbies or passions. Sometimes stepping stones are used as a path marker or placed around a bird bath to create a serene setting for wildlife.

Small plaques with a poem or verse could be mounted on the wall or desktop for those that don’t have a lawn or the time to maintain a garden and want to create a memorial on a smaller scale indoors. You could combine live potted plants, silk arrangements of favorite flowers, photos, or framed mementos to add interest and keep the memory alive.

Weeping Cherry Tree Planted as a Living Memorial

May 13, 2013 urngarden.com

Have you ever wondered why weeping cherry trees are called such? Just by the look of them, it could be because their branches hang down to the ground, and when their pink or white blooms fall each spring, the trees look like they are crying — or weeping.

These ornamental trees originated in China but were cultivated in Japan during the 8th century. Weeping cherry trees gained popularity in the United States after World War II when Japan’s government donated thousands of trees as a symbol of friendship. Many were planted in the Washington, DC area and are the focus of the National Cherry Blossom Festival each year.

However, weeping cherry trees, much like other ornamental trees, are becoming more widely used as gifts to families after their loved one dies. They offer the bereaved a chance to plant a living memorial and watch as the trees grow and bloom, honoring the lives that were lost. They typically come packaged ready for planting, along with care instructions.

Ornamental trees are grown mainly for their aesthetic value and are traditionally seen in gardens or in large downtown areas where their color and texture bring an essence of beauty to the surroundings. When given as a memorial or funeral gift, these trees provide comfort year-round as opposed to flowers that live for only a few weeks.

If you are planning to give a loved one an ornamental tree as a memorial gift, keep in mind that you will want to present it after the funeral is over. Special gifts such as this can get mixed up with other flowers and plants at the funeral home, and the bereaved person may not realize what he or she received.

Another good gift idea is a memorial marker to dedicate the planting. You can order a stone with the loved one’s name, dates, custom art work, or a brief personal message inscribed on a small or medium size.

It will look more natural and mark the sacred spot without looking like a grave marker. The stones are quarried here in America and weather well.

You will also want to make sure the tree is indigenous to the climate in which it will be planted. For example, a weeping cherry tree may do well in most areas of the United States except perhaps in the desert region of the Western states.

Weeping Cherry Tree Memorial

May 11, 2013 urngarden.com

weeping cherry tree

In The Mailbox: One of our clients sent a nice note thanking us for our assistance and the recommendation of a Weeping Cherry for a tree dedication. The Weeping Cherry is one of my favorite ornamental trees and a stunning centerpiece for a memorial tribute. Check your zone out on a garden map, the Weeping Cherry does best in zones 5-8.

Added bonus for the Weeping Cherry tree is they are generally pest and disease resistant and don’t require a lot of pruning.

Here’s an example of a tree dedication, using a personalized river rock garden stone and a Weeping Cherry tree to honor Dave. Simple and elegant.

And then this:

Dear Lenette,

Thank you so much for all that you did to make Nelda’s memorial service even better than she had planned it.

I have always felt that the worst part of any funeral is the time when you leave the cemetery and leave behind someone you loved and have spent a lifetime with. Thanks to your generosity, I brought Nelda home with me and that was such a comfort at a very bad time.

The urn was beautiful (“bee-u-tee-full”, as Nelda would say) and M. loves and cherishes her urn necklace.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

DIY Memorial Stepping Stone

May 26, 2012 urngarden.com

For Mother’s Day I whipped together some stepping stones and the results were pretty spectacular, except my stones are not designed for bare feet as you will see. Broken pottery shards are not kind to the bottoms of your feet, but they sure look good! This would be a fun craft or kids’ activity for a Memorial Day get together.

1. Round up your supplies. One bag of Quik Crete per stone.
diy memorial stepping stone

2. For the molds, I used clear plastic deli trays, and foil pans. But you could even use a cardboard or pizza box. You’ll need to round up a bucket, hose, and mixing utensil. Raid your stockpile of junk jewelry, broken glass or dishes, and beads to embellish your stone. Lay out your supplies, because once you start the concrete mix, you’ll have to work quickly.

diy memorial stepping stone

diy memorial stone

3. Add water to concrete and start to mix until consistency of pudding. Depending on the depth of your mold, pour the concrete in almost to the top. Spread to level.

The first couple of batches, I poured too thin.

4. Start decorating, gently seating your adornments in the mix. Don’t worry if they sink a bit or are submerged in a little water. The stones will need 2-3 days to cure. Let them sit undisturbed and the stone should just pop out of the mold. Clean it off and blaze a trail.

diy memorial stone

Maybe you are not into crafting and want something more traditional and immediate?

Easy Garden Memorial- Purple Coneflower

July 11, 2011 urngarden.com

If you are looking for an easy low maintenance planting for a grave site or memorial garden, a flower that comes to mind is the Purple Coneflower. A personal favorite for it’s wild beauty and the healing properties of Echinacea. Hearty and drought resistant, they keep reseeding and come back every year. The genus name “echino” translates in Greek to hedgehog.