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Memorial Gardens

June 14th, 2017

My mom was an avid gardener, her gardens were always full of blooms (and vegetables too). For her celebration of life service, we decided that we wanted to use flowers from her garden to decorate the church. Her gardens are large, thus we had plenty of blooms. There were four large arrangements and four smaller ones. Here are some photos (some cell photos, some real ones, some mine, some my brother’s). They were lovely and just what we wanted, not the typical funeral arrangements. My mom was adamant about her service not being like a normal funeral, including the flowers.



It was nice because some of the flowers we used in the arrangements were from plants that my mom had gotten from her mom’s gardens. The white peonies and the sweet peas were both true heirloom flowers. My mom didn’t have a dedicated cutting garden, but she certainly had plenty of flowers to cut throughout the spring/summer/fall.




In lieu of flowers for her service, we had friend/family make donations to the charity my parents started. The funds will be used to build a memorial garden in at the camp facilities in Colombia. We figured this was fitting, it allows the funds to be used for something that will last. The garden will also be a place for all the people in Colombia to remember her and the work she did there. My dad and I are now starting the design process for this garden, I may be traveling to Colombia in the next year or so to help with the plan/implementation. It’s exciting to think about a lovely garden that will provide a peaceful place at the camp.

What’s your favorite flower?

8 Comments to “Memorial Gardens”
  1. kristin @ going country on June 14, 2017 at 5:45 am

    Perfect. Those arrangements are spot-on. I particularly like that dark-red day lily in the center of one of the smaller ones. We had several of those at Blackrock, and they were always some of my favorites.

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  2. Joan on June 14, 2017 at 8:20 am

    How beautiful the church must have been, with all of her flowers. When my brother died I gathered wildflowers for his service. It was very healing for me to gather them and arrange them. I hope the same was true for you.

    Reply to Joan's comment

    • Susy on June 14, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      Yes, it was.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. Misti on June 14, 2017 at 9:17 am

    This is beautiful and thoughtful! They are gorgeous!

    Did she paint that sunflower?

    Reply to Misti's comment

    • Susy on June 14, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      She did, my mom painted as a hobby. We took our favorite of her paintings to the service.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. bonnie knox on June 14, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    The flowers are lovely and creatively arranged. The memorial garden is a splendid idea. I hope you enjoy working on it.

    Reply to bonnie knox's comment

  5. PennyAshevilleNC on June 15, 2017 at 8:39 am

    I love the arrangements- they add vitality and from what you have shared, your Mom added that too. I am glad you have some pictures to keep :)

    Reply to PennyAshevilleNC's comment

  6. Tonya on June 15, 2017 at 9:31 am

    Those are better, by far, than anything from a florist. What a fitting tribute. My mom was also an avid gardener, but she passed in the middle of winter, so no flowers from her gardens at the service. But on a similar note, I enjoyed eating vegetable soup from her freezer and canned goods from her garden for months after she passed. A bittersweet blessing.

    Reply to Tonya's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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