Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

biodegradable urns

Private Paddle Out Ceremony

Dear Mother Vintage Postcard

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….

bio urns for ashes

Biodegradable Urns for California Water Burial

The burial of cremated remains in water has become extremely popular and the container you use to disperse the ashes had better break down!
On June 25, 2012 California passed Bill AB1777 requiring any urn with cremated remains that is placed into the ocean, must biodegrade within 4 hours. You know what a good choice would be? A quick-dissolving urn for ashes  that is made from salt and complies with the new law!  Sand & Gelatin urns also dissolve quickly making them another perfect choice.

Sand urn

We don’t recommend placing any urn into the water from a beach or pier, current federal regulations state that a cremation urn should not be placed into water within three nautical miles of shore.

Suitable urns for deep water burial would be the award-winning Memento Urn and the Shell Urns both of which would work well for that type of memorial service.

For families who opt to scatter ashes the traditional way, pouring the ashes from the urn, we offer the popular and easy-to-use scattering tubes.

urn for scattering ashes

They are suitable for earth or water scattering and are available in eleven beautiful designs. These affordable scattering tubes can be recycled after the ceremony.

Urn Garden Biodegradable Urns

Ash Scattering Ceremony in The Bahamas

flag of bahamas

Scott bought a biodegradable urn for an ash scattering ceremony he planned for his mother-in-law in the Bahamas. He explains the paperwork process of transporting the urn filled with ashes from Texas to the Bahama beach.

Prior to beginning you will need the death certificate and certificate of cremation.  I have been told that sometimes they are one in the same however, most of the time they are two separate documents.  You will need to contact the Bahamas Ministry of Health, or that country’s equivalent. All documents should be faxed to them (make sure to make a follow up call and get names). At that point they will send written permission that will be signed by, in my case, the Chief at the Ministry of Health.  This document will have vital information on it regarding the deceased and in our case will mandate that you contact the Ministry of Health once there and make arrangements to have the burial at sea at least 10 miles off shore.  Now this form should be attached in some way to the remains so that customs officials, should they become curious of the contents of the urn will see what it is and can make simple phone calls to verify.  The last thing I wanted was for a customs agent to think it’s heroin or something and open it to test.   I learned that customs has little or nothing to do with the process.   Once we were there we went to my Mother-in-Law’s favorite beach and set her urn adrift.  This was about 50 yards from the shore in a deep harbor.  I would not suggest doing this in shallow water.

By the way the urns were perfect, thanks.

cremation urns

Related Articles:

Funeral for a Friend: Celebration at Sea

Dust in the Wind: Scattering Ashes Ceremony

Ceremony for Scattering Ashes

Earth Friendly Biodegradable Cremation Urns

This month we’re featuring heart-shaped cremation urns, jewelry urns, and memorial stones. One of our favorites is the earth friendly Unity biodegradable urn.

Unity Floral Urn
Unity Floral Urn

These beautiful urns are handmade and feature inlaid fresh flower petals. It is available in three sizes, pet or keepsake size urn, standard adult urn, or a double capacity companion urn.Each urn includes a water-soluble plastic bag for the cremated remains.

The Unity urn is designed for ground burial. Once buried it will degrade naturally over time. Available in three designs with matching keepsakes.

Pink Unity Urn for ashes

Urn Garden 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.