DIY Network

Reconsidering Cemeteries as Public Gardens

Master gardener Maureen Gilmer, host of Weekend Gardening, discusses the benefits of preserving cemeteries.

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	Where old wood grave markers leave no hint of the inhabitants, old roses take over the burial plots. (All photos courtesy of Maureen Gilmer)
	Gardeners have turned this old cemetery into a community garden.
	In the still-unrestored part of this cemetery, iris and wildflowers are sown on a broad scale.
	Graveyards across America have been a treasure trove of long-forgotten old-rose varieties.

Why graves should be decorated year-round

By Maureen Gilmer

May 21, 2007 — There was a hymn published in 1867 that was dedicated "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead." But southern women were decorating Civil War graves as early as 1864.

Just a few years later, John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic declared the first official national Decoration Day in which Union and Confederate graves alike should be honored. It was a gesture meant as a healing act of a still deeply divided nation.

Gardeners have long collected remnants of hardy old roses and bulbs once planted upon a loved ones' grave. Many of these are no doubt the legacy of these post-war years when, because graves were so carefully tended, the old plants miraculously survived. Through the latter half of the Victorian-era, folks continued to clean and tidy the graves every year. Perhaps they added a new rose to replace one that died or a sapling of a favorite forest tree to root down into the very grave itself.

Until the time of Civil War, graveyards were not well tended. Superstitious dread was inherited from England, where overused city cemeteries were so disease-ridden, they were to be avoided at all costs. But with Decoration Day, Americans made planting and tending the graves a family affair, a venerable outing for young and old.

But aside from little American flags and occasional flowers on graves at what is today known as Memorial Day, many American cemeteries remain unadorned. The dead and their families are long gone with no one left to remember them.

A movement is afoot to go beyond one day a year of decoration. As cities become more crowded, urban graveyards across America are reevaluated. Their potential as public gardens capable of inviting life to come and dwell amidst the slabs, fences and monuments cannot be denied. They are also vital sources of local history, many of which are disintegrating beyond recognition.

Why not return to the idea of decorating graves all year long with living plants? Those who long to cultivate floral beauty but lack their own space or funds may find these public places an ideal opportunity to gather, plant and socialize in the process. Certainly those Southern ladies decorating fresh Civil War graves found some mutual solace, followed by fried chicken and sweet iced tea.

In many of these sites, some dating to the dawn of the 19th century, there still exist some of our most outstanding local monuments and plants. They mark the history of the famous and the infamous, heroes and villains, and the soldiers of a dozen wars who lie side by side, all but forgotten.

There are a lot of folks worried about what they call "Endangered Cemeteries." Many are being taken over by forest or urbanization. The gravestone markers are wearing down, so their chiseled faces no longer record names and dates. For history and genealogy buffs — or anyone going back to the old hometown to look up the resting places of ancestors — this loss can be devastating. Many believe it is a tragic loss of American history.

The New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association has an excellent site with more handy how-to information on ways to improve conditions at your local historic cemetery. You can find it at www.rootsweb.com/~nhoga. The site has detailed discussions on documentation, cleaning, repairing, controlling plant growth, repairing stone walls and more. Their excellent guidebook can also be downloaded directly from the site as a handy, easy-to-print PDF.

Also check out the Saving Graves preservation group to find out how to become involved with the national efforts restoration, care and improvement of local historic cemeteries. Its site is www.savinggraves.org.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of preserved cemeteries is in making history and ancestors seem more real to youngsters. Their ability to touch the stone of a famous man or woman buried nearby brings that human off the pages of a history book and into the 21st century.

(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of Weekend Gardening. E-mail her at mo@moplants.com. For more information, visit: www.moplants.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

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