I’ve been anxious to share our completed new pet memorial garden this year, ever since we first told you about it back in April and May. It’s been a work in progress, but has not yet reached completion! It probably won’t be completed this year – we’ve had too many projects this spring and summer around the farm. The Dadz needs to put a step in front of it, and shore it up better – some of the soil is eroding out. But he’s been busy getting firewood ready for next winter, and getting a fence around our veggie garden. It’s important to be warm this winter, and to keep our veggies away from the hungry wildlife!
I still got things planted in there though, I just never got to make it pretty with wood chips and more flowers like I wanted. I also misjudged just how much shade the garden was going to get, so some of the things I planted weren’t appropriate and didn’t grow. When we first started the garden, the leaves weren’t all out, and I didn’t realize just how many branches hung over it that would leaf out and shade everything! That’s OK, my original memorial garden at our old house was a shade garden too, so I know what plants to get for next year. As it turns out, the nasturtiums I planted in there that I had started from seed took over well anyway!
Let me backtrack just a bit for newer readers and those who might not remember our old memorial garden. When we were in the process of moving, I wrote a whole series about the garden and how sad I was to leave it behind. It was always my plan to start a new one here, but I didn’t anticipate just how many gardens and flowers were already here! I set up my trellis, with the tags from all the pets we had lost while living in our old house for over 20 years, in what I call the “barn garden” here, but things grew so high in there it kind of got lost.
The first pet we lost at this house, our golden retriever Sheba, went to the Bridge in January of 2017. She was cremated and her ashes sat on our jelly hutch for many months. It was my intention to bury her but it just didn’t happen. When we lost our beagle Cricket just over a year later, I realized what I’d been waiting for. I wanted to bury the two girls at the same time; thus our new memorial garden was conceived. Though they had their issues at times, they were best friends and typical sisters. The girls were buried at the site of the new garden, along with one of our chickens who had been killed by a fox (we lost 3 birds to the fox this year, but only one body was recovered). I wonder what the girls thought of that!
I wanted to use some of the lawn/garden ornaments that had been in the old garden in this one; but I also wanted to add something new. I found the fun chickens you’ll see in the photos on my spring girls’ shopping trip, and that seemed perfect. Now we’ll tell the rest of the story with our photos:
Even though it’s incomplete, we love our garden, and I often walk by there in the morning, sometimes with Luke, and say “good morning” to the girls. We also put it in a place where I can see it when I’m sitting on our couch in the living room, and from our bedroom window. We can see the lights in front at night. I want to feel like our girls, and the memories of all of our pets, are always with us, wherever we are. ♥
Thank you to our friends at Living Laughing Barking in Our Backyard for hosting the Flower Friday blog hop! Please visit other blogs through the links below.
What a beautiful place!
Thank you!!
It’s such a beautiful garden, Jan. I’m sure it brings much comfort and so many memories.
Thank you, Jodi! It really does.
What a nice idea. Wag ‘n Woof Pets, CRYSTAL AND DAISY MAE’S PHOTO-BLOGGING SITE has put their link in. Enjoy.
Thank you. Glad you joined the hop!
Your previous post inspired me to start working on a memorial garden in my yard. It will be some time before it’s nearly as nice as yours-and hope to wrap up various design changes to soon 😇
That is so great! I hope you will share some photos with us when you feel it’s ready enough. ♥
It looks so peaceful… and I love that you can see it from so many places in your home. I think it looks beautiful… it’s such a labor of love. I have always been afraid to make one because my gardening skills were so shaky. I’ve improved a lot – so maybe I have the courage to try one now!
Thank you! I’ve seen some of those beautiful flowers you planted (columbines, I think?), so I think you’re ready! 🙂
Love it. They will always be with you. I have the ashes of my pets that passed in the last 6 years…didn’t want to leave them in Cornish. As soon as I’m sure our new house is our forever house, I will be planting a small memorial garden here. ❤️🐾
I’m glad you still have them with you. I hope this house is your keeper so you can have a garden soon too!
This is clearly a labor of love. It is beautiful.
Thank you, Ellen.
Beautiful garden tribute to precious loved ones
Thank you, Lynn!
That’s a lovely Memorial Garden.
Thank you!
I LOVE IT! I have wanted to do make a memorial garden in our yard for the last few years, but the summers go by so quickly and I never seem to get to it. Can’t wait to see the garden when you are finished – it looks amazing now! Love the chickens.
Thank you! Summer is definitely too short, and it’s so hard to find time to do everything we want to!
I love the symbolism. Our fur-babies always help up bloom and be better humans.
Truth!!
The memorial garden is really coming along nicely!
Thank you!
What a beautiful start…and I’m with J(Emma), I don’t think it will ever be done…and that’s the way it should be 🙂
I agree…every moment spent working in it is like time spent with my angels. ♥
What a beautiful memorial. We have a spot in our back yard, but nothing as fancy.
Thank you. It’s the sentiment behind it, and it’s so nice that you have one!
That is so wonderful, you sure did a great job with it.
What a beautiful tribute to the wonderful animals that have shared your life. I have a small tribute to my Rainbow Babies in my office. I’d love to have something like yours though. ♥
Indoor memorials are nice too! Maybe one day you can start a garden at your new home, even if just a small one.
That is so nice. I often wonder what I will do when my two go.
I hope you don’t have to worry about that for a long time! ♥
that is a wonderful place …full of memories and love
Aw, such a sweet garden and final resting place for the girls and one chicken. I love the garden guardians, too! The nasturtiums really have spread out a lot!
Apparently all that shade doesn’t matter to the nasturtiums, and I’m so glad about that. They are really climbing up the trellis now too, I love that!
That is coming along nicely, and it is a very pretty spot. Those nasturtiums sure have taken over! 🙂
I know, I can’t believe how they’re growing! They are spreading into the woods, and now climbing up the trellis too. Love it!
It’s very nice even though it is a work in progress. My guess is it will never be done. I know the girls appreciate it.
Thank you. I think you are right about that. Working in there will always help me feel closer to the girls, so I’ll always wanting to be add something new.