How to Decorate a Cemetery Plot

Decorating a cemetery plot can help show respect for the dead and make grieving processes easier for survivors. Flowers are commonly used to decorate grave sites, but you can use other decorations as well. Follow these tips to decorate a cemetery plot while respecting the decedent and others' final resting places.

Instructions

1. Check the cemetery's decorating rules. Cemeteries reserve the right to regulate the way their property looks. Follow these rules while decorating a cemetery plot.

2. Buy grave blankets or pillows. Grave blankets or pillows are available throughout the year and can be laid on top of cemetery plots.

3. Place a shepherd's hook on the cemetery plot. Shepherd's hooks can hold a wide variety of decorations and can catalog the contributions of different visitors. Common decorations hung on shepherd's hooks are bird feeders and small baskets.

4. Add flowers. Plant flowers along the grave site. If you'd prefer to keep flower decorations permanent, consider adding a vase of fake flowers to the cemetery plot instead. Flowers made of plastic, metal or cloth can remain intact without any of the upkeep associated with maintaining live ones.

5. Put religious markers on the cemetery plot. Customize the religious markers with the decedent's name and birth and death years.

6. Decorate a cemetery plot according to the present holiday. Put wreaths on graves for Christmas, jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween and flags for national holidays. Holiday decorating generally begins one week before the actual holiday and the decorations are usually expected to be removed approximately one week after the holiday has ended.

7. Add miscellaneous items like pinwheels, solar lights and crafts to the cemetery plot.

Tips & Warnings

• Find ways to anchor decorations either to the headstone or to the ground. Decorations that are not securely tied to headstones or the ground are likely to be blown away by the wind.

• It's best to use biodegradable materials when decorating a cemetery plot.

• Write the name, lot and section locations of the cemetery plot on decorations so that they don't become misplaced if they are temporarily moved due to routine cleanup or a new burial.

• Avoid putting items of sentimental value on the cemetery plot. If the item falls below the guidelines of acceptable plot decoration, the cemetery staff may remove and discard the item. The item may also be in danger of being stolen from the cemetery plot.

• Pay attention to space. The usual dimensions of a cemetery plot are 4 by 8 feet. Do not encroach on an adjacent cemetery plot's space while decorating unless you own or have reserved the other cemetery plot too.