memorial stone

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.

Memorials on the Trail

November 9, 2012 urngarden.com

While many consider this part of the world “fly over country” the fact is these Ozark hills are one of the most beautiful places on earth. In addition to the natural beauty of the area the Ozarks are really a giant playground with top entertainment and outdoor activities in any direction you care to turn. We’re fortunate to have many well maintained bike paths and trails that wind through scenic areas. Lately we’ve tried to squeeze in a couple of bike rides while the weather was warm and colors were prime.

One trail in particular got my attention as I noticed several benches and statuary that were dedicated as memorials.

Turns out that for a donation to the organization that helps maintain the green ways you can place a marker as a tribute on the trail.

This would be a nice way for families that have chosen cremation and want to create a unique memorial dedicated to a loved one that also benefits the community. The memorial stones on this bike path are rough cut and unpolished and blend into the landscape so it doesn’t look like a grave yard.

You may have a solution in your area that will satisfy will allow you to place a commemorative bench or statue in a quiet place to remember and appreciate. On a recent visit to the downtown library I saw a polished granite bench at the entrance that was placed in memory of one of the patrons. In these instances, not only are you making a donation in your loved ones name, the dedication is a lasting reminder of that individual.

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.

Other memorial garden ideas:

Early spring flowers: Bleeding Hearts

Living memorial: Weeping Cherry Tree

The appearance of snowdrops in early spring is a stirring promise of renewal.

Butterfly bush

Blue hydrangeas

August birth flower: Gladiolus

Assorted memorial garden trees and bushes.

Personalized memorial stones

July Birth Flower: Larkspur

July 19, 2010 urngarden.com

larkspur

Our Larkspur have already come and gone. Always precarious in early spring, it takes me awhile to distinguish between weed and bloom. Over the years, I’ve ripped up a few plants before I realized. Larkspur are easy, hardy, and often in the wildflower mixes that you can buy inexpensively and sprinkle out of a can and might be a good choice for a memorial garden.

Larkspur is the July birth flower and symbolizes laughter, energy, and relaxation. You could even decorate with a small garden stone, like the river rock that looks natural and would blend in without looking like a grave yard. The nice thing about these stones are you can have them personalized with names and dates if you want.