burial urn

Private Paddle Out Ceremony

September 21, 2012 urngarden.com

We’re seeing a shift lately in more families choosing to scatter the ashes either over water or a sacred space on land. One client has been on our mind this week as she prepared for a private ceremony to scatter her mother’s ashes.

Her mom has been gone for a couple of years now, and while they were very close, for the last two weeks the daughter had been having disturbing dreams about her mother. In the dreams her mom was upset with the daughter and on a couple of occasions would demand to know “What are you waiting for?”

Well, she was waiting on her sister. They weren’t that close, and geographically it wasn’t convenient. But lately the daughter felt it as if her mother was sending her a message that it was time to do something with the ashes. Her mom loved the beach, so she did the research for dispersing ashes in water and decided on a don’t ask, don’t tell private ash scattering ceremony.

She ordered the Journey water burial urn, checked the weather, took the rest of the week off, gathered her wake board, and planned to paddle out for small memorial service as we approach the first day Autumn. Just a girl and her mom at the beach.

Lenette,
Thank you so much for all your help. True to your word, my order was delivered in time and was just what I needed.
Paddling out in about an hour to honor my Mom….

Shovel by Shovel, We Committed our Parents Ashes

August 16, 2012 urngarden.com

This past weekend, my friend Donna and her family buried her parent’s remains in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado. It was a beautiful goodbye. Donna has been an inspiration to me through the years and she was kind enough to answer questions about planning a memorial service for two sets of ashes.

Were both of your parents cremated?

Yes, both parents were cremated following their funerals. We had open caskets in the foyer of the church, and we escorted the closed caskets into the ceremony at the church where they worshiped. We chose very special urns for each of them. Cremation took place the same day as the funerals. We received their urns the next Day.

How long did you wait after their passing before scheduling this ceremony?

Because our Dad passed away suddenly on Christmas Day, at the age of 88, our Mom was cared for by all eight of us siblings in their home of 64 years. At 90+ years, Mom was sometimes confused, about where he went. We took pictures of her saying good bye to him at the funeral and had to gently remind her he was in heaven and shared the pictures of her saying goodbye. His urn was kept in her China cupboard until she passed away in their home 1.5 years later.

With 8 kids in the family, was it hard to get everyone to agree on the idea, or was this preplanned by your parents?

My Dad always told us to bury him in Tercio, CO. Mom didn’t want to be buried there because she says it gets too cold and far from home. She wanted to stay closer to ‘home’. After some inquiry about the cemetery there in Tercio, where my Dad grew up, we decided they both should be buried there. At first, I felt sad to leave their remains out there, but it is such a beautiful place and they had a ranch not far from there that they visited and loved for 20 years after my Dad’s retirement.

Was this in a cemetery or private land?

It is a very old cemetery and most folks buried there are local families.

My brothers worked with the folks that managed the cemetery. They requested that we not drive on the property but keep vehicles outside the fence.

One week before the burial, all 6 brothers prepared the site and brought the beautiful granite marker and base. Then the day before the burial , our youngest brother, dug the 3′ X 3′ hole and later in the day, we all watched as our brothers laid their urns in an urn vault and sealed them. The next day, the ashes were transported to the cemetery. At the cemetery, the urn vaults were wrapped in a white sheet next to the hole where they were buried.

After a familiar church song and prayer and scripture reading led by my sister who is a licensed Minister, four of the oldest nephews lowered the sheet in to the hole and wrapped the sheet around the urn vaults. Each of us, shovel by shovel committed our parents ashes to the beautiful mountains.

There was so much peace and strength from each other. Every one who wanted to share their appreciation to our parents, did so. Very warm and caring with tears and laughter. One special person, took all of our Mom’s costume jewelry, necklaces, beads, earrings and fashioned bracelets and necklaces for all the female survivors, daughters, daughters in law, grand daughters, grand daughters in law…each picked something they would treasure.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Because there are so many of us surviving siblings, we always met or included each other in any decisions by meeting in person or texting. We made decisions by only meeting with the siblings and not our spouses. We knew our parents, and we knew how they expected us to be respectful of each other with love and dignity. We were taught to love God, despise evil and make good choices. We are very close to each other. I am glad I moved back here to help with our parents.

Biodegradable Urns Video

February 11, 2012 urngarden.com

Biodegradable urns are designed for families that have chosen to return their loved one to the earth in a pure form. Urn Garden is pleased to offer earth friendly urns for ashes that are made from sand, salt, paper,tree bark and other organic materials. The urns are durable, have no shelf life, and will NOT begin to biodegrade until buried or placed in water.

What You Should Know About Biodegradable Urns for Ashes

In keeping with the growing trend of green burials, more individuals are selecting cremation instead of taking the traditional route of being buried in caskets. By storing cremains in these types of biodegradable urns for ashes they are planning to have their remains scattered or buried instead of being displayed at home in customary urns or placed in niches at a cemetery.

Choosing Biodegradable Urns for Ashes

Environmental consciousness has grown throughout the country and because of this, traditional funerals are becoming less common. As more people choose cremation as an end-of-life arrangement, some are even deciding to have those ashes buried in a biodegradable urn in a green or natural cemetery or scattered in their favorite place in nature.

Biodegradable urns are less expensive alternatives because they are made from temporary materials that break down when planted in the earth or submerged in water. Consider choosing biodegradable urns for ashes when you know this is the type of final arrangement you or your loved one wants.

Types of Biodegradable Urns for Ashes

Biodegradable urns for ashes are made from a variety of materials, some used for earth burials while others are specifically for water burials. Make sure you know the type of burial you are planning before you purchase a biodegradable urn for ashes.

Earth biodegradable urns: These types deteriorate over time depending on their containers and where it’s buried. The more moist and healthy the soil, the faster it will break down. How quickly it degrades also depends on how deep the urn is buried too. These urns are made from several natural materials such as sand, bamboo, cornstarch, natural clay, peat, or recycled paper. You can also purchase urns with flower or trees embedded in the container so a green plant will grow over time, another reminder of your loved one. Earth biodegradable urns come in various shapes such as pillows, boxes, unity hearts, or traditional urns.

Water biodegradable urns: These urns typically float for a brief period time and will sink gracefully. They are made from recycled paper, rock salt, gelatin, and sand. Typically, you may only be allowed to scatter ashes or put a water biodegradable urn in saltwater or you can bury it in the earth. They come in different styles such as tubes, pillows, sea shells, sea animals, Grecian urns, and balls of sand.

Before Burying or Scattering the Ashes
Each state has its own regulations regarding burial and scattering of ashes, many because of environmental laws. Your funeral director can guide you with the legalities.

Urns for Ashes Video

January 28, 2012 urngarden.com

Shopping for urns for ashes is probably the last thing you want to be doing right now, or ever. When trying to make a decision about which urn for ashes to get, it helps to know where the final resting place will be. Are you going to keep it in the home, bury, or scatter the ashes? You may decide that a bronze urn that can be kept in the home and moved to the cemetery later might be a good choice. Brass urns are an affordable option and provide secure storage of the ashes and can also be buried. Biodegradable urns are available for ash scattering ceremonies or an earth friendly green funeral.

Feel free to call Urn Garden for personal service if you need assistance making your selection.

Mother of Pearl! Discount Urns

October 12, 2009 urngarden.com

We’ve cut the prices on many of our solid brass urns. Families can get an urn for ashes for less than $100, a tremendous value when planning a funeral or memorial service. Many are solid brass cremation urns with secure a threaded lid and work well for burial at the cemetery or attractive enough to keep in the home. Some styles have matching keepsake urns for families that plan to share or scatter some of the ashes.

Our beautiful Mother of Pearl Urn can be personalized with an engraved medallion.

Mother of Pearl Cremation Urns

In addition to adult urns and cremation keepsakes, our affordable cremation jewelry is another creative way to create a memorial for your loved one. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to create something nice that will honor the one you love.