Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

Memorial Service Ideas

Weeping Cherry Tree Memorial

weeping cherry tree

In The Mailbox: One of our clients sent a nice note thanking us for our assistance and the recommendation of a Weeping Cherry for a tree dedication. The Weeping Cherry is one of my favorite ornamental trees and a stunning centerpiece for a memorial tribute. Check your zone out on a garden map, the Weeping Cherry does best in zones 5-8.

Added bonus for the Weeping Cherry tree is they are generally pest and disease resistant and don’t require a lot of pruning.

Here’s an example of a tree dedication, using a personalized river rock garden stone and a Weeping Cherry tree to honor Dave. Simple and elegant.

weeping cherry tree dedication

And then this:

Dear Lenette,

Thank you so much for all that you did to make Nelda’s memorial service even better than she had planned it.

I have always felt that the worst part of any funeral is the time when you leave the cemetery and leave behind someone you loved and have spent a lifetime with. Thanks to your generosity, I brought Nelda home with me and that was such a comfort at a very bad time.

The urn was beautiful (“bee-u-tee-full”, as Nelda would say) and M. loves and cherishes her urn necklace.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

memorial stone

Memorial Service Ideas: Final Ride

Surf board hearse

If you had the chance to plan your “last ride” to your final resting place when you die, whether it be a cemetery, mausoleum or where ever you want to be planted, what would you choose? A traditional hearse? Horse and buggy? Or would you want something so unique, that you know it will provide a lasting impression to all the guests?

Traditionally, funeral processions are general in nature. Vehicles line up behind a hearse or lead car and take one last stroll from the funeral home or church to the cemetery.

However, there is a new trend emerging in funeral processions: Instead of riding to the cemetery in a regular hearse, some people are choosing to have their final ride in a Harley-Davidson hearse. A decked out, three-wheel conversion motorcycle pulls a coach — and thus the deceased person — to his or her final resting place.

Once a biker, always a biker, right?

This type of hearse is already popping up in several cities around the United States, and people are starting to notice. This break-through style is definitely opening the doors for others to roll out unique hearse designs. Although the Harley hearse is more popular, some funeral homes and specialty companies are also using converted ambulances, classic cars, and yes, even garbage trucks.

Family Business and Junk Jewelry

During the interview on the memorial service in Colorado, Donnas’ caring philosophy for her aging parents really made me think about some of the families we’ve served that don’t have the stellar communication skills that her family has. The fighting, resentment, and confusion manifests and creates a taxing environment that spills out and splashes everyone around them. This theory of discussing family business without spouses involved seems to simplify a complicated conversation.  Eliminating the distance also helps, she’s lucky in that most of her siblings are in the area.

Donna also mentioned the friend that crafted necklaces and bracelets from her mother’s collection of costume jewelry to give to the granddaughters as a personal memorial.

My friend Susan recycles junk jewelry into brooches that are a small reminder of the person that wore them. She’s created beautiful memory jars using found objects like stray game pieces and interesting bits of metal.

Here she’s mounted a photo to an old eyeglass lens. I believe the trendy term is “up-cycled”. I call it trash to treasure.

upcycled eyeglass lens

Oh Katrina, How I Hated You

The Fleur de Lis symbol has appeared on countless coats of arms, flags, architecture, and remains an enduring symbol of France and New Orleans.  The Fleur de Lis literally means “lily flower” and the symbol is a stylized interpretation of a lily.  Urn Garden has modernized the famous French icon into a piece of memorial jewelry.

Urn Garden Cremation Urns

Keeping it on the Down Low: Ceremony for Spreading Ashes

scattering ashes from the eiffel tower

Some families like to scatter ashes from way up high, this lady is releasing a keepsake amount of cremated ashes from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Or this undisclosed location:

scattering ashes ceremony

We prefer to keep it on the down low, whether spreading ashes on the ground or over the water:

spreading ashes ceremony

U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Gabriel Hernandez
U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Gabriel Hernandez

If you plan to spread the ashes on the ground, a shallow trench or groove can be dug in the soil or sand where the ashes can be placed. This process can be personalized by drawing out the person’s name or a heart shaped trench. Add candles or luminaries around the trench to create a spiritual ambiance and can be later used as a keepsake for those that attend.  Wildflower seeds and  tree plantings are another way to personalize the event. At the end of the ceremony, participants can either rake over the remains in the trench, or have the water from the ocean sweep the remains out to sea while family and friends join hands and remember the individual’s life.

urns for scattering ashes