Generational Grave Gardening

I never really gave a thought about the "Why". It was something my family had always done. Planting the family plot just before Memorial Day was a tradition of honoring our deceased family members. In my family, it is a tradition passed down to each generation. Each year, around the same time, Uncle Frank and Nana Lena would entertain me with stories from previous years' planting. It was also around this time they would make the trip to purchase flats of geraniums (Pelargonium), dusty miller (Jacobaea maritima), and those stinky flowers. Later I learned stinky flowers were marigolds (Tagetes patula). The same week, my Nana would pack cheese sandwiches and beverages in a vintage Skotch Kooler for a snack, gather lawn chairs, and off they would go to the cemetery for the day. After many years, the time came to pass the hoe and shovel to my mom Patrina who enlisted my help. Uncle Frank would hand over a list of flowers and colors as well as the planting design for each of the eleven plots. Many years have passed and we since have added Uncle Frank, Nana Lena and my Mom to the family plot. Now I am the fourth generation grave gardener.

So why do we use flowers to honor our deceased loved ones? I went searching for some explanation of this long-standing practice. Funerary gardens have a history that dates back to ancient Egypt. Smithsonianmagazine.com contributor Bridget Katz, in her online article "First Evidence of Egyptian Funerary Gardens Found in Luxor", writes of Laura Geggle reporting for "Live Science" notes that archeologists from the Spanish National Research Council have unearthed a 4,000 year old gridded plant bed with possible remnants of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and palm trees (Cocos nucifera). The layout of the bed was 10 feet by 6.5 feet with smaller grids and two higher center beds. The plants grown in the gridded bed would have had cultural meaning and had a place in ancient funeral customs.

In my research, I found many of the flora and vegetative plantings in the Egyptian plant bed had an underlying symbolism. Palm trees represented the departed's power for resurrection and lettuce represented fertility and a return to life. I started to wonder, "were our grave flowers selected with symbolism in mind"? Not really. Uncle Frank said he selected those particular flowers because they could withstand heat and did not need a lot of water. The symbolism connected with those plants never really occurred to me until I did further research on Funerary Gardens. I decided to research the symbolism of my grave plantings. Marigolds are the flower of the dead and are said to attract souls. Geraniums symbolize melancholy or grief and sadness. Dusty Miller symbolizes happiness and delicacy. Now that I have taken over the family tradition, I have added snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) to symbolize strength and grace, alyssum (Lobularia maritima) to represent playfulness and wonder, and lastly, a single Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) for loyalty and purity. As I prepare for this year's Memorial Day planning and plantings I find myself putting water jugs in my vehicle just as generations before me did in preparation for the frequent visits to tend to these nurtured memorial plantings.

I have spent many hours in cemeteries researching family history. I would fight off bugs while enjoying the fragrant flowers. It never occurred to me that a bug or a flower might be important to a researcher. Entomologists, Botanists, and Horticulturists are conducting research in cemeteries and are discovering new plants and insects. The National Wildlife Federation in the online article Hidden in Plain Site by Jessica Sachs Snyder notes a new population of eastern prairie-fringed orchids has been found in an old Missouri cemetery. These threatened orchids release a fragrance attracting the sphinx moth for pollination. The prairie-fringed orchid lives underground for five years and is "fused with symbiotic soil fungi called mycorrhizae". The prairie orchids are complex and defy propagation. Researchers at the Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York have discovered a new beetle species. National Geographic's Kate Thronton in her article "Why Cemeteries are a Surprising Source of Life" writes about Marc DiGirolomo, a biological technician with the United States Forest Service discovery of a wood-boring jewel beetle as part of an insect identification study being conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture. Upon reviewing additional information I located, I learned the beetle was found in a wood sample of a beech tree and noticed its genitalia looked different. The beetle was sent to an insect expert in the Czech Republic and to Canada for DNA testing and was identified as Agrilus sp. 9895. As scientists continue to conduct research in cemeteries new discoveries of not only plants but insects will be made in the future.

During the 19th century, cemeteries served a dual role as a public park. Due to cholera and typhoid outbreaks, church cemeteries overflowed. Additional land was needed to keep up with the number of burials. America Forests writer Tate Williams, in his online article "In the Garden: The Revival of America's First Urban Parks", tells of how horticulturists in Massachusetts solved this problem by locating land in the rural areas outside of the city. The cemetery became a place not only to bury and honor the dead, but an escape for urbanites to enjoy nature in a quiet rural setting. The cemeteries were filled with blooming flowers, shrubs, and shade trees growing among the gravestones. Cradle graves were common and consisted of a head and footstone and two low walls connecting the plot. In the middle of the "plot" was a patch of soil where loved ones could establish small flower gardens. As time passed urbanites abandoned the idea of traveling to the city outskirts and using a cemetery as a public park. They wanted to have natural landscapes located in the city within walking distance of their residences. This notion eventually led to the establishment of city parks and rural graveyards were forgotten.

I spent many hours going down rabbit holes while working on this article. I discovered most cemeteries have some landscape groundskeepers and rules about planting. But I was surprised to discover there are garden cemeteries with arboretums. One thing many have in common is their participation in research studies.

Mount Auburn Cemetery Massachusetts with more than 80 taxa and extensive plant and conifer collection has 175 acres with thousands of significant trees, shrubs, and groundcovers. Explore Flora at Mt. Auburn is a searchable online database of their plant collection.

Green-Wood in Brooklyn offers the Fungi Phenology Project. This is a citizen-based science project collecting data and studying how fungi respond to seasonal and climate changes. Green-Wood is also involved in urban grassland study looking at the effects of invasives and climate change on turf in Green-Wood.

The Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia has its own Grave Gardeners program.

Grave Gardeners Want to get involved discusses a series of workshops instructing and educating volunteers on heirloom plant varieties appropriate for Victorian Era gardens. Some volunteers look into the lives of the graves they are planting using genealogical records. The research has led to some graves now having a plant theme. A collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the Woodlands Grave Gardeners with assistance from Pennsylvania Horticultural Society are helping to identify and plant flowers ancestors would have planted on families' gravesites in the 1800s. The Woodlands also participates in other research and special projects with other educational institutions.

Fast Forward to today...Many cemeteries have fallen into disrepair. Individuals are choosing alternative burial methods. Cemeteries are looking to establish new practices to remain relevant. Many cemeteries are now enhancing their landscaping using sustainable grounds maintenance methods and becoming more intentional about re-establishing natural areas. Cemeteries are establishing education programs such as nature walks, behind the scenes horticulture tours, and citizen science projects. Cemeteries are to see a revitalization as people seek out public spaces.

In a few weeks, I will begin hardening off my cemetery geraniums that I have overwintered for the past 8 years. I assessed the dusty miller yesterday that I overwinter in my yard. I was pleased to see fresh silvery green leaves developing. The one daisy I spoke of earlier is for my Mom's grave as that was her favorite flower. I was humbled to see that my first attempt at overwintering has worked and produced five buds. I have already started seeds for over 100 marigold plants. I will go to my local greenhouse to add a few new items to my grave garden design. As I have learned, a cemetery is just not a place to discover your genealogical past. It is a haven for plants and bugs of the past. Why not set out to help map and catalog the trees and plants in your local cemetery, start a grave gardening group of volunteers, or volunteer for a citizen science project on bugs. Just think of all the unique finds that are resting and waiting to be discovered.

Bibliography

Credits: Katherine Unger Baillie, Writer, et al. "Grave Gardeners Program Reconnects the Woodlands and Penn." Penn Today, February 22, 2018.

"Explore Our Plant Collections: Mount Auburn Cemetery." Explore Our Plant Collections | Mount Auburn Cemetery. Accessed April 15, 2021.

"Get Involved." The Woodlands Grave Gardeners. Accessed April 15, 2021.

Gorman, Jim, and Mount Auburn Cemetery. "Plants." Mount Auburn Cemetery Plants Category. Accessed April 15, 2021.

"Green-Wood - National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, NY." Accessed April 15, 2021.

"Green-Wood Fungi Phenology Project." iNaturalist. Accessed April 15, 2021.

Katz, Brigit. "First Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Garden Found in Luxor." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, May 12, 2017.

Mount Auburn Cemetery Gardens. Accessed April 15, 2021.

Snyder, Jessica Sachs. "Rare Plant Discoveries." National Wildlife Federation. Accessed April 15, 2021.

Thornton, Katie. "Why Cemeteries Are a Surprising Source of Life." Animals. National Geographic, February 10, 2021.

The Woodlands Grave Gardeners. Accessed April 15, 2021.

Williams, Tate. "In the Garden Cemetery: The Revival of America's First Urban Parks." American Forests, August 3, 2018.

The Woodlands Trust for Historic Preservation. "Reintroducing The Woodlands Grave Gardeners!" The Woodlands. The Woodlands, August 13, 2016.

The Woodlands. Accessed April 15, 2021.