Say Good Bye With Confidence: Funerals and Funeral Homes

Some people take pleasure in cleaning their home, enjoying both the process and the end result. Some people just enjoy the end result. The same can be said of a loved one's grave. There are those who might enjoy the minor maintenance required, whether it's giving the headstone a light cleaning or replacing the flowers on the grave. Others might just prefer to visit their loved one's grave without the need to do anything other than sit and quietly remember the deceased. What are some of the ways to make a loved one's final resting place as low maintenance as possible?

Plants

Ditch the regular cut flowers in favor of living plants. Not all plants are up to the task, so opt for a perennial that's drought-tolerant while still appreciating the sun. The plants need to be hardy and compact and can be planted in a rectangular border outlining the grave, or on the grave itself if no capstone (a rectangular stone placed over the soil) was used—although a capstone can still have a useful purpose (and more about that in a moment). You can't just automatically assume that you're permitted to plant a decorative feature on a grave, so be sure to check with the cemetery themselves. The plants will need occasional light pruning, but you won't need to keep changing flowers on the grave.

Headstones

Additionally, you might want to upgrade your loved one's headstone. It will presumably have been made of stone, but what kind of stone was used? Stone is certainly robust and designed to last, but some last better than others. Most types of stone are porous, and so will absorb a small amount of water each time it rains. It will take years, but the appearance and general quality of the stone will begin to decline. Think about investing in a quartzite headstone. This is milled from pure quartz and will stand the test of time without the need for ongoing maintenance. 

Capstones

You could also think about adding a capstone if the grave doesn't already have one. Again, this should be quartzite (or at least a stone that has a comparable level of weather resistance). It's a rectangular marker applied to the grave as a finishing touch and means that the lawn over the grave will be removed so it can never become untidy again. A capstone doesn't mean you can't add plants either, and these can be distributed around the border of the capstone.

With a few alterations, a loved one's final resting place can be upgraded to a place that's incredibly low maintenance, meaning that all you need to do is visit the local cemetery.