Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

Memorial Service Ideas

DIY Memorial Garden

Even if you don’t have a million dollars to re-landscape your outdoor living space, you can still create a memorial garden or outdoor sanctuary in a small space on a shoestring.

Depending on how elaborate you want to get, a bench and a few low maintenance plants will do. Expand on the idea with an arbor, pergola or trellis. Outdoor lighting? You can do it in phases, or as your finances allow. Next season, add a fountain or water feature.
urngarden garden memorials

Feel like you need to get your hands dirty and work the earth? What about this intriguing garden design? It can be done on a small scale and filled with easy care plants.

Want to dedicate a tree or sacred spot in the garden? Customize a garden memorial stone or marker. Personalized stones will take 2-4 weeks to create, but worth the wait and you can use the time to plan your space and buy the plants needed.

urn garden memorial stones

It’s never too late to start creating your healing garden, in fact this is a great time to find outdoor furniture, plants and accessories on clearance.

Today’s tip: Create a sanctuary for yourself.

Strawberry Fields Memorial Garden

Urn garden greeting

Today we are touring the Strawberry Fields Memorial Garden in New York’s Central Park. When Yoko Ono and John Lennon lived in the Dakota Apartments, this was one of their favorite places in Central Park.

Today, this 2.5 acre area of the park is dedicated to the memory of John Lennon and named after his famous song “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Yoko Ono donated $1 million toward the re-landscaping and maintenance of Strawberry Fields after it was dedicated to Lennon’s memory in 1981. The memorial garden is home to over 120 different species of plants and trees with a tear drop shaped path that runs through the garden.


The “Imagine” mosaic is a gift from Italy and is a replica of a famous mosaic in Pompeii. The only change from the original is the inclusion of “Imagine” in the center of the mosaic and has become a popular place for visitors to place flowers, pictures and tokens in memory of John Lennon.

On a personal note, Sunday night is now not only Must See TV (HBO), but also our new guilty pleasure: PostSecret .

Today’s tip for better living: Imagine.

Mosaic of Our Lives

After the death of my mother-in-law I started experimenting with making garden stones. They are fun and easy and a great garden expression or gift.

Early experiments yielded thin stones that cracked later. But after we got the hang of it, we produced some masterpieces! I was able to collect a lot of Peggy’s costume jewelry and set pieces into the concrete for some stunning stepping stones for family members.

Small bags of Qwik-Crete cement, a plastic lined pizza box or deli trays to use for forms, and a stash of shells, glass beads or other embellishments and you’ve got a garden keepsake! Recipe and simple instructions here.

Rainy Randomness

Collecting ourselves after a whirlwind week! Hummingbirds are hitting the feeders hard, despite the downpour. And you know what that means?

Merry Ho-Ho! Last year, Hobby Lobby got the award for Earliest Christmas Merchandising Effort when they started stocking in July. Haven’t checked their progress this year.

Now, let’s get serious for a minute.

First up, Candace over at Repose is archiving her mother’s fascinating story of a teenager in war-torn Czechoslovakia.

Earlier that year, the government had closed all of the high schools to support the war effort. All of the teachers were pressed into military service. All of the other girls my age were made to work for the German Army or “Arbeitsdienst” to help run the farms or the hospitals which had lost workers to the war as well.

The boys my age were all drafted too. They received three months of marching training, and then were showed how to hold a gun. Then they were sent to the Russian front.

Candace shared her story of creating her brother’s urn:

I carved one from wood and buried it in our childhood back yard. I used twigs from bushes in the yard, painted it with spirit circle patterns and filled it with the most beautiful flowers I could find. Then put the ashes in a velvet pouch and added letters written to him.

It was a long time ago but I still miss him so very much. He was not only my brother but a very good friend and some days I still cannot believe he is gone. In Repose was created, in part, because of him.

Beautiful.

Our condolences go out to the family of Daniel Joseph Feather, 29. We hit the “Baboon” occasionally, and followed his dream of getting THE dream bike. His 8/6 entry, “Fear is the Mind Killer” is eerily prophetic. Shiny Red Triumph arrives on at the end of July, Dan dies on his dream bike two weeks later.

Heavy.

Where do we go from here?

Today’s tip: Turn your lights on!

The Power of Purple

Tim Totten wrote an interesting post on color. We study color here in the garden as well. Last time we checked blue was still America’s favorite hue.

Regarding funeral service, the color is changing. From darkness to light.

In the urn world, we noticed that the ladies love shades of purple. So we offered a line of purple urns and are one of the few distributors to do so.  When we expanded our line of pet urns, we wanted to offer stylish urns in blue and purple, so we manufactured an exclusive line, our True Blue and Violet Inspiration and the families have responded.

purple cremation urns for ashess

If I examine my own purchasing power, I scan the shelves on the health and beauty aisle for the purple packaging of the Aussie hair care products. My gym bag, Nikes, bedspread, hand soap, scissors…..All various shades of purple.

Love it or hate it- the symbolism of the color Purple:

Royalty and Spirituality: Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.

Nature of Purple: Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties. A purple room can boost a child’s imagination or an artist’s creativity.

Too much purple, like blue, could result in moodiness. I read where purple can also symbolize mental illness and violence!

Culture of Purple: The color of mourning for widows in Thailand, purple was the favorite color of Egypt’s Cleopatra. It has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank. The Purple Heart is a U.S. Military decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle.