Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

DIY Memorial Ideas

DIY Memorials: Dish Gardens and Window Boxes

This is our final installment of our memorial gardens series – written expressly for those who for one reason or another are looking for smaller remembrance garden options.

“Smaller” isn’t the only reason to choose one of these alternatives. In truth, it wasn’t size that was important in this example of a DIY memorial project; it was the fact that –in choosing African Violets as the focus of the memorial garden–the outdoor location discussed in earlier installments wasn’t suitable. This may be the case for you, too.

african violets

Why African Violets?

This remembrance garden is in honor of my “Auntie Kayo”, who took me in and loved me like I was her own. She called me “her lambie”, made me a birthday cake and a new Easter dress every year, and I adored her.
She grew African Violets on the ledge above her kitchen sink. They were among the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Now that I’m living in a house with enough of the right kind of sunshine, my DIY memorial to her will be an African Violet dish garden. With that idea in mind, let’s move on.

We’ll first look at ways to use a dish garden to honor the memory of a loved one; and then we’ll turn to window box memorial garden ideas. As always, should you decide either of these options is the right one for your situation, we’ve included some wonderful online resources to support you along the creative journey.

dish garden
credit: ugaurbanag.com

Memorial Dish Gardens

A dish garden is a garden of plants growing in a shallow dish or bowl for a container. The plants used in a dish garden should be compatible and cultivars that stay small or grow very slowly are most commonly used. The medium should be well drained, but hold adequate moisture and should not be very fertile, since a fertile medium would tend to encourage rapid growth. If the container has drainage holes, a saucer or other protective device should be put under it. (Source)

Here are a couple of resources to help you creating your DIY memorial dish garden:

window box flowers

Remembrance Window Boxes

There’s a certain charm to the idea of a window box garden, and they are most suitable for many different types of flowering plants. Naturally, if you’re thinking of a remembrance window box garden, you’ll want to ensure you’ve got the right amount of light for the plants you’ve chosen (and an easy way to water the garden). One of the most inspiring online articles on window box gardens is Midwestern Living’s “30 Bright and Beautiful Window Box Planters“. Certainly, An Extraordinary Day’s “How to Plant a Window Box Garden: Tutorial & Tips” is full of valuable information on starting and caring for window box gardens.

If you’ve missed the earlier installments of this series on memorial gardens–which began way back in February–here’s where you can find them:

“DIY Memorials: Let’s Talk about Memorial Gardens”
“DIY Memorials: Planning a Loved One’s Memorial Garden”

What’s Ahead?

It amazes me that the month of June is here already. As we move into summer, chances are you’ll find yourself busy with season activities and away from the computer. Still, I hope you can join us in the next four weeks – Lenette and I have some wonderful topics to explore with you. Because as I mentioned in one of those earlier memorial garden-related posts, I’m losing my eyesight and can no longer enjoy reading in the traditional sense; one topic I’m most intrigued with has to do with the availability of grief-related materials in audio book format. I’ll be looking more deeply at the language of flowers which we touched upon in the third installment, “DIY Memorials: More about Planning a Memorial Garden”. In celebration of the beauty and meaning of flowers, I’ll also showcase Urn Garden’s collection of floral urns.

DIY Memorials: How to Make a Memorial Shrine

diy beach memory jar

Are you looking for fun, meaningful DIY memorial ideas? If so, you’ve come to the right place because our 2018 blog calendar is chock-full of wonderful do-it-yourself memorial ideas. Today’s post focuses on creating a memorial shrine in honor of a loved one.

And grief therapists tell us a memorial shrine can be a fine addition to your ‘bereavement toolkit’. In the 2011 post “Creating Shrines and Altars for Healing from Grief” Karla Helbert, MS, LPC, tells readers why this is so: “…shrines are external representations of interior mysteries…and ways of showing in tangible form what might be happening in our hearts and spirits. Creating shrines and altars gives us opportunities to remember, to reflect and to honor, as well as to help heal the pain of loss through the act of creating. The creation of a personal shrine can establish a private place to which you can return to reflect, meditate, grieve, engage in a personal ritual, remember, and honor the one who has died.”

daddy craft memorial

A well-conceived memorial shrine shines the light of love, illuminating the relationship shared during your loved one’s lifetime.

How to Make a Memorial Shrine

There are dozens of websites, including Pinterest, where you can find inspiration for your loved one’s memorial shrine. Begin by finding the right location in your home for your memorial shrine: it needs to be placed in a quiet, comfortable place. If you’ve not got a lot of room, don’t worry – you don’t need a lot.

Once the location is decided upon, gather up the items you’d like to include in your loved one’s memorial shrine. Ms. Helbert, the author of the article mentioned earlier, suggests:

  • Make a list of words that come to mind when you think of your loved one.
  • Make a list of objects or things that you associate with your loved one.
  • Write down any words of wisdom, favorite expressions, funny or loving things your loved might have said. If your loved one never spoke, write down memories that have stuck with you, specific times that you continue to return to, that seem to bring some peace and comfort and to remind you of their love.
  • Write down nicknames or pet names you might have used for each other and any associations those words may bring up.
  • Write down his or her favorite colors, flowers, foods, hobbies, talents, etc.
  • Research and find images that correspond to some of the things you have listed. You may find lots of interesting images on the internet that you can print and cut out for use in creating a memory board or seeing the images may spark other thoughts or ideas that you may wish to incorporate in your memorial shrine.

There are dozens of websites, including our Pinterest account, where you can find inspiration for your loved one’s memorial shrine. There are also a couple of good books on the subject, including the 2004 book, Crafting Personal Shrines: Using Photos, Mementos & Treasures to Create Artful Displays by Carol Owen, and Sacred Spaces: Creating Personal Altars and Shrines for Your Home by Beverley Jollands.

Did you know you can even make a portable pocket memorial shrine? I especially like this DIY memorial shrine idea: find an Altoids tin and place some special items–ones which provoke strong feelings when seen – inside.

travel shrine pinterest

(Check out this Pinterest page for more on these tiny tributes.)

On a side note: this idea has much the same purpose as a memorial garden, in that you’re creating a sacred space, dedicated to the memory of a loved one, where you can spend time in quiet reflection. Here in the doldrums of winter, if planting a memorial garden when the spring returns to your part of the world sounds like a fine idea, read our post, DIY Memorial Garden.  Take it a “step” further, round up your supplies and get crafty to make your own memorial stepping stone.You might also enjoy reading our 2015 post, “Gift Ideas for Someone Who is Grieving” – a worthy read, even if the “someone grieving” is you!