Celebrate Your Loved Ones With a Memorial Garden at Home
Discover ideas for adding garden elements to honor those you have cherished who are no longer with you
Bringing reminders of loved ones into our living spaces is part of what makes our homes special. You can do the same in your garden by adding plants and features that symbolize those you have loved, honoring their lives and focusing on what they meant to you. While every memorial garden is unique and deeply personal, the ideas below offer inspiration to help you begin creating a heartfelt space in your own landscape.
As you plan your memorial garden, it’s important to think about the person your loved one was — “their quirks, their favorite things, their hobbies, their funny and inside jokes, their favorite words or sayings, their pets,” says Kristin Taunton, who worked with a design team on a memorial garden seen below. These personal touches can help shape a space that not only honors the person’s memory but also brings comfort and a lasting sense of connection.
As you plan your memorial garden, it’s important to think about the person your loved one was — “their quirks, their favorite things, their hobbies, their funny and inside jokes, their favorite words or sayings, their pets,” says Kristin Taunton, who worked with a design team on a memorial garden seen below. These personal touches can help shape a space that not only honors the person’s memory but also brings comfort and a lasting sense of connection.
2. Plant a Tree
Planting a tree in memory of a loved one is a cherished tradition. Oaks (Quercus spp.) and maples (Acer spp.), both of which symbolize longevity and strength, are often a first choice for public memorial gardens, but they are fine for home landscapes as well. A more personal approach may be to plant a tree that has a connection to the person you’re honoring. That might be a favorite tree, one that blooms in their favorite color or one that represents events in their life.
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Planting a tree in memory of a loved one is a cherished tradition. Oaks (Quercus spp.) and maples (Acer spp.), both of which symbolize longevity and strength, are often a first choice for public memorial gardens, but they are fine for home landscapes as well. A more personal approach may be to plant a tree that has a connection to the person you’re honoring. That might be a favorite tree, one that blooms in their favorite color or one that represents events in their life.
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If your space is limited, consider a smaller tree, such as those that do well near patios or decks or along a sidewalk. For an even smaller space, such as a balcony, courtyard or patio, look for a tree that will thrive in a large container.
12 Trees Landscape Designers Love for Containers
12 Trees Landscape Designers Love for Containers
3. Evoke Memories With Flowers
Planting shrubs or perennials that bloom year after year is another way to create a beautiful living memorial in your garden. White roses (Rosa spp.) and lilies (Lilium spp.) are elegant, time-honored choices. Poppies (Papaver spp.) are another popular choice, as are blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis spp.). You can mass them in one spot or spread them throughout your garden.
Planting shrubs or perennials that bloom year after year is another way to create a beautiful living memorial in your garden. White roses (Rosa spp.) and lilies (Lilium spp.) are elegant, time-honored choices. Poppies (Papaver spp.) are another popular choice, as are blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis spp.). You can mass them in one spot or spread them throughout your garden.
Make the space more personal by including your loved one’s favorite plants as well. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to transfer a beloved plant or cuttings from their garden to yours.
Visual reminders are powerful, but our memories are often closely linked to scent, so consider including fragrant plants in your memorial garden. Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides, USDA zones 8 to 11; find your zone), jasmine (Jasminium spp.), lavender (Lavandula spp.) and lilacs (Syringa spp.) have distinctive scents that can evoke memories. Other fragrant favorites include mock orange (Philadelphus spp.), roses (Rosa spp.) and sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus, zones 2 to 11). Citrus trees (Citrus spp.), flowering crabapples (Malus spp.) and magnolias (Magnolia spp.) can also be fragrance-packed.
4. Add Permanent Ornamental Features
Fountains, birdbaths, benches, garden ornaments and sculptural pieces, whether new or existing, can become year-round symbols of the person you are honoring. You can add a dedication on or near your chosen memorial if you like.
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Fountains, birdbaths, benches, garden ornaments and sculptural pieces, whether new or existing, can become year-round symbols of the person you are honoring. You can add a dedication on or near your chosen memorial if you like.
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5. Make It Personal
In the memorial garden in this Minnesota front yard, a Cor-Ten steel sculpture spells out the name of the young man it celebrates. You can find plaques in a variety of sizes and materials that will allow you to customize a name or add a few words. Some are meant to be set on the ground; others can be raised.
If your garden is accessible to others, as this one is, you can also encourage family and friends to add to the space. This will allow others to express what the person meant to them.
In the memorial garden in this Minnesota front yard, a Cor-Ten steel sculpture spells out the name of the young man it celebrates. You can find plaques in a variety of sizes and materials that will allow you to customize a name or add a few words. Some are meant to be set on the ground; others can be raised.
If your garden is accessible to others, as this one is, you can also encourage family and friends to add to the space. This will allow others to express what the person meant to them.
6. Celebrate a Passion
A memorial garden is more than just a place for plants. It’s an opportunity to celebrate what made that person unique and special. Add physical reminders of what made them happy, whether it be a favorite place or a hobby they loved.
At the same Minnesota memorial garden as above, Beau’s love of skateboarding is brought to life with a skateboard, made of Cor-Ten steel to match the name sculpture. To personalize your own memorial garden, you may want to create a woodsy feel for a nature lover with a small pond or stream, bring in sand and driftwood for a beach lover or set up a rocking chair in a spot where a book lover would have enjoyed reading.
Learn more about this garden
A memorial garden is more than just a place for plants. It’s an opportunity to celebrate what made that person unique and special. Add physical reminders of what made them happy, whether it be a favorite place or a hobby they loved.
At the same Minnesota memorial garden as above, Beau’s love of skateboarding is brought to life with a skateboard, made of Cor-Ten steel to match the name sculpture. To personalize your own memorial garden, you may want to create a woodsy feel for a nature lover with a small pond or stream, bring in sand and driftwood for a beach lover or set up a rocking chair in a spot where a book lover would have enjoyed reading.
Learn more about this garden
7. Pay Homage to the Veterans in Your Life With a Victory Garden
The iconic victory gardens of the First and Second World Wars became mainstays of landscape design as those at home faced food shortages both locally and abroad. The focus was on easy-to-grow edibles that were high in nutrition, including beans, beets, cabbage, kale, carrots, peas, squash, Swiss chard and tomatoes.
To pay tribute to the veterans in your life, turn your own edible garden into a space that honors their service. It may be as simple a gesture as creating a sign with their details and dates of service. Place it front and center where it is visible each time you head out to water, weed or harvest.
The iconic victory gardens of the First and Second World Wars became mainstays of landscape design as those at home faced food shortages both locally and abroad. The focus was on easy-to-grow edibles that were high in nutrition, including beans, beets, cabbage, kale, carrots, peas, squash, Swiss chard and tomatoes.
To pay tribute to the veterans in your life, turn your own edible garden into a space that honors their service. It may be as simple a gesture as creating a sign with their details and dates of service. Place it front and center where it is visible each time you head out to water, weed or harvest.
8. Create a Place for Pets
Beloved pets, who always leave us too soon, still have a place in our hearts and homes after they’re gone. Whether you have actual burial sites for remains or ashes in your yard or simply want to acknowledge their lives, look for one of their favorite spots in the yard. Then add a small plaque with their name and maybe a saying. You might want to include special memories, such as tags or a favorite toy that’s in a weather-proof container or under a shelter. Or keep it simple and grow a favorite plant, like catmint (Nepeta racemosa, zones 4 to 8), as a remembrance.
Your turn: Do you have a memorial garden or other dedicated space that reminds you of a loved one? Tell us in the Comments.
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Beloved pets, who always leave us too soon, still have a place in our hearts and homes after they’re gone. Whether you have actual burial sites for remains or ashes in your yard or simply want to acknowledge their lives, look for one of their favorite spots in the yard. Then add a small plaque with their name and maybe a saying. You might want to include special memories, such as tags or a favorite toy that’s in a weather-proof container or under a shelter. Or keep it simple and grow a favorite plant, like catmint (Nepeta racemosa, zones 4 to 8), as a remembrance.
Your turn: Do you have a memorial garden or other dedicated space that reminds you of a loved one? Tell us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Read more landscape design stories
Get landscape design ideas
Find a landscape designer or architect
Shop for outdoor products
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Purposefully setting aside a place in your yard as a memorial is the first step. It can be large or small. The only rule is to choose a place that is meaningful to you or evokes memories of the one you miss. A secluded nook, perhaps under a tree or tucked against a fence, can become a retreat without distractions. A dedicated spot along a path or in a garden bed can be filled with favorite plants or a meaningful object. A space just outside a front or back door can bring back memories every time you enter or leave your home.
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