Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

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Build Me Up Buttercup

Snowdrops and daffodils are strong and beautiful.  They survive  harsh weather conditions, neglect, and continue to multiply.

City planners and developers love the Bradford Pear tree and it’s always an early bloomer.

The Bradford Pear has a distinct odor. Lately? I’ve been smelling a strong cat pee odor.  Turns out?  It’s the Bradford Pear trees!

Forsythia brings the explosion of early spring color. My neighbor sculpts and manicures his bush, trying to keep it contained. Personally, I think it looks better on the wild side, like fireworks.

Tickle Me With A Crow Feather

Crow Feather

Crow feathers are believed to be good luck charms for traveling.

“Raku” translates to pleasure and happiness.

What a beautiful combination:

feather keepsake creamation urn

Our artist signed, one of a kind Raku urns are natural choice for families that want a beautiful organic work of art for their loved one.

pottery cremation urns

Earth Friendly Cornstarch Urns

biodegradable burial urn

The latest addition to the Urn Garden biodegradable urn collection are cremation urns made from cornstarch.

That’s right, cornstarch! Hand-painted with water-based paints, the urns are designed for a green burial and will not break down until placed in the earth.

This urn is TSA compliant and is packaged in a convenient box for discreet and secure transportation.

You Don’t Know My Travis

Travis,  the chimp who mauled a Stamford, CT woman, was cremated last week at the request of the Herold family, who owned the 200 pound chimp.

Eileen Donofrio, office manager for All Pets Crematory & Remembrances in Stamford, said that, as far as she knows, it was the first cremation of a primate at the Myrtle Avenue pet crematory.

April Truitt, who runs the Primate Rescue Center in Kentucky, said she warned Herold of the dangers of keeping the animal in her home in 2003 after she heard Travis jumped out of the Herolds’ car at a downtown Stamford intersection and eluded capture for two hours.

“Travis was a ticking time bomb, and keeping him in the house and trying to domesticate him was a really, really bad idea,” Truitt said. “He wasn’t going to put up with it forever.”

She pleaded with Herold to consider placing the chimp in a sanctuary, but Herold was not interested, saying, “You don’t know my Travis,” Truitt said.

Source: The Advocate, Stamford, CT.

Salt of the Earth Urns

biodegradable burial urn

An earth friendly option for families is our Salt Urns. Hand-crafted from solid blocks of Himalayan Rock Salt, the salt deposits in the Himalayas are over 250 million years old and believed to be the purest on earth.

Each natural salt urn is unique in both color and finish. When placed in water, our Salt of the Earth urns will dissolve within 4 hours.

As a precious and portable commodity, salt has long been a cornerstone of economies throughout history.

Covenants in both the Old and New Testaments were often sealed with salt: the origin of the word “salvation.” In the Catholic Church, salt is or has been used in a variety of purifying rituals. In fact, until Vatican II, a small taste of salt was placed on a baby’s lip at his or her baptism. Jesus called his disciples “the Salt of the Earth.”

In Buddhist tradition, salt repels evil spirits. That’s why it’s customary to throw salt over your shoulder before entering your house after a funeral: it scares off any evil spirits that may be clinging to your back.

Shinto religion also uses salt to purify an area. Before sumo wrestlers enter the ring for a match – which is actually an elaborate Shinto rite – a handful of salt is thrown into the center to drive off malevolent spirits.