They say time heals. After a loved one has passed away, the length of mourning varies from person to person. People find comfort in many different moments and rituals from a formal funeral to a celebratory memorial service. If your loved one chose cremation, the timeline can move more slowly than traditional burial or interment. Many people choose to keep the ashes in an urn for a period of time. Then, you can release them whenever you’re ready. In these situations, memorial gardens create the ideal resting place because of their quiet, natural beauty.
“All is well.
-Harry Scott-Holland, Death is Nothing at All (SOURCE)
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!”
Choosing a spot for the release is highly personal. If your loved one did not specify where they’d like to be scattered, or if they chose a place where scattering is not permitted, we suggest a memory garden as a peaceful resting place.
Table of Contents
Appreciate Natural Views
Use Nature’s Soundtrack
Attract Wildlife
Create Moments of Reflection
Offer Relief from Daily Commotion
Most memory gardens are private properties that have been registered for ash scattering. They are created with the long-term in mind. They’re set far away from busy, metropolitan areas or properties slated for development.
These scattering gardens provide subtle landscaping. The changes only enhance the beauty of the surroundings and provide room for scattering location markers.
Many of these ash scattering locations even allow you to visit semi-annually. This creates a beautiful tradition to honor the life of the person scattered in the garden. It allows you to grieve on your own timeline.
You can scatter the ashes whenever you’re ready. Then, visit over the years to celebrate their life.
Memorial Gardens Create a Peaceful Resting Place
If you’re choosing between a traditional cemetery and a memory garden, you may enjoy the peaceful, natural setting of a cremation scattering garden.
1. Memory Gardens Appreciate Natural Views
Unlike traditional cemeteries or mausoleums, garden memorials for cremated ashes coexist within their natural settings. They don’t alter the natural views with large monuments, buildings, or other constructions. Instead, the best memory gardens create just enough structure to memorialize the area without destroying the natural beauty of the garden memorial.
At our Scatter Garden in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we’ve cleared only enough to enhance the breathtaking views. From our garden, you can see portions of the James River with a small waterfall. Every hour of the day brings a new phase of the sun. In the morning, the sunrise peeks out from behind clouds that nestle just across the river. Throughout the day, the rays shine through leaves and branches. In the evening, the colorful sunset splashes across the horizon until it sets behind the mountains.
2. Memory Gardens Use Nature’s Soundtrack
In stark contrast to a mournful funeral dirge, or the clamor of cars on busy roads, memory gardens offer the twittering of birds. Soft, soothing sounds of rustling leaves will echo around these natural settings. Can you imagine visiting your loved one’s memorial and listening to the happy chatter of wildlife?
At Rest Ashured, we use native plants and trees to encourage the local wildlife to make their homes around our scatter garden. As a result, birds, squirrels, and insects provide a pleasant soundtrack to peaceful surroundings. When the breeze is still, you can even hear the soft rush of the river in the distance.
3. Memory Gardens Attract Joyful Wildlife
As we mentioned above, memory gardens encourage animals, birds, and insects to make their home around the area. This differs from cemeteries that often discourage wildlife from visiting the property.
When you open up the landscape to this natural ecosystem, it comes alive with the joy of new life. You may see a bird’s nest full of eggs in the springtime or spot bees buzzing around the nearby flowers. We encourage these happy interactions because they add to the vibrant memorial garden cemetery.
4. Memory Gardens Create Moments of Reflection
When you visit a memory garden, the quiet landscape beckons. It’s ideal for moments of reflection — especially during occasions like our Days of Celebration. When family members and friends visit our location, they see the marker for where their loved one was scattered.
This creates a serene moment — not only to celebrate the person’s life but also, to soak in the comforting, natural surroundings.
When you are saying goodbye, these moments of reflection become a vital part of healing. You can enjoy the quiet and soak in nature while viewing your loved one’s marker.
5. Memory Gardens Offer Relief from Daily Commotion
While there is some cell phone service as our private, remote location — it’s mostly distraction-free. We encourage visitors to put their phones aside for our twice-annual days of celebration and take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Visitors won’t hear the hum of traffic or the bleep of devices.
Buzzing cell phones are replaced by buzzing bees. Chattering squirrels drown out the memory of traffic jams. And rushing winds overwhelm the whirr of white noise.
These moments of relief become an important part of the grieving and eventual healing process. A memory garden creates the chance to break out from daily life. You can visit your loved one’s resting place without distraction.
Send Your Loved One to Rest in a Memory Garden
Memory gardens remain the ideal resting spot for anyone looking for a peaceful, remote place to put cremation ashes to rest. They’re usually solitary and natural — perfect for nature lovers.
If you have questions about whether a scatter garden is right for you, please get in touch with us. We’re here to make the process as smooth as possible. Call 434-534-4007 or email us at info@restashured.com.
