How to Plant A Memorial Garden
A wonderful way to memorialize a loved one is by planting a memorial garden in their memory. Considering the person's personality as you plant flowers and plants will ensure that you capture your loved one's personality. Make your memorial garden a spot for reflection or plant a nice hammock in the middle for an afternoon snooze. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Start a memorial garden by finding just the right plot of land. Pick a spot that you will naturally see a few times a day, such as outside a living room window. The memorial garden I planted is right outside the kitchen window and has a nice benefit of being located directly below my mother's bedroom so she can gaze at the garden daily.
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Start designing your small garden by coming up with a pleasing shape to hold the plants. Keeping your garden small at first will help you fill it in and afford a nice lush place to spend an afternoon in reflection. Also, starting small means you won't become overwhelmed with the care needed by the newly planted foliage. Turn the soil either by rototilling or by hand with a sturdy shovel. If you're unable to prepare the ground for your garden, consider hiring a high school student whose back may be stronger than yours!
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The next step in creating a memorial garden is to prepare your soil for the new plants. If your soil is full of clay, add in some sand to lighten the texture of the soil. If your soil is more sandy, add in a heavier garden mix to make the soil moist and firm. Regardless of your soil type, the addition of compost will ensure there's plenty of nutrients for feeding the new plants.
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Consider your loved ones personality when selecting plantings (of course, you must also consider the sun/shade requirements of the new garden). When I created a memorial garden in memory of my sister and my father, I selected purple flowers as that was my sister's favorite color and plants such as forget-me-nots and poker plants for my father (he loved his gambling!). Our memorial garden gives my Mom and me a lot of pleasure each day and keeps our memories of our loved ones close.
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Tips & Warnings
Selecting perennials means that your memorial garden will be even more lush next year.
Fill in the sparse areas with annual flowers which spread quickly, such as impatients (for a shady garden) or petunias (for a sunny garden plot).
Ask friends and family to contribute a plant or two to the garden. Have them select plants that remind them of your loved one.
Resources
- Photo Credit Personal photos
