Matters of Life and Death
If you are thinking about stepping out, consider a lucky shamrock garden stone.
Sturdy, durable and weatherproof. Each garden stone carries an Irish Blessing, and best of all? Made in the U.S.A.
Visit Urngarden.com for more Spring urn and memorial garden stone selections.
Miss Heather, of NYC gave us a garden tour of some of the memorials spotted lately in her Greenpoint neighborhood.
But first, a brief history moment.
Early Colonization of Greenpoint:
Greenpoint was originally inhabited by Keskachauge Indians, a sub-tribe of the Lenape. Contemporary accounts describe it as remarkably verdant and beautiful, with Jack pine and oak forest, meadows, fresh water creeks and briny marshes. Water fowl and fish were abundant.
Flash forward to our first projects: Airbrush memorials for Luis* and Malo:
Smaller and more subtle examples include this memorial to Alexander McQueen on the B62 bus stop.
*update: Tribute to Luis located in Bushwick. Not Greenpoint.
The tree in midtown has become a roadside memorial.
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:
We prefer to keep it on the down low, whether spreading ashes on the ground or over the water:
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.
The most common method of scattering ashes is known as “casting” , which is basically tossing the ashes into the wind. Let’s talk about the WIND. Consider wind direction and try to cast down to prevent “blow-back”. The dense nature of human ashes combined with a fine powder forms a whitish-gray cloud when it becomes airborne.
Some families want to release the ashes all at once, and others want to spread the ashes as a group, each member taking a turn scattering the remains.
This family opted to split the ashes in individual envelopes, some DIY-ers use paper cups. Your family funeral director can make this process much easier if you need assistance or have questions regarding this process.
Scattering tubes and biodegradable scattering urns are also available.