Cemetery know-how
15 guides on Cemetery know-how, from choosing flowers to getting them placed.
Flower Guides
Graveside Flowers: What the Term Means and the Forms They Come In
Graveside flowers are the flowers placed at the grave itself, as opposed to funeral or sympathy flowers. The forms they take, from vase arrangements to saddles, wreaths and blankets, which suits which grave, and how they reach the cemetery.
Planning & How-To
Visiting a Grave: What to Bring, What to Do There and How Long to Stay
A practical guide to visiting a grave: what to pack, how to find it, what people actually do once they are there, what to say, how long to stay, and how to leave it.
What to Put on a Grave
What Can You Put on a Grave Instead of Flowers?
Stones, flags, a written card, coins, photos, small keepsakes and winter wreaths: what you can leave at a grave besides flowers, what each one means, and what cemeteries clear away.
Cemetery Rules
The Cemetery Removed My Flowers. Why It Happens and What to Do
Arriving to find the flowers gone is upsetting and almost never personal. The five reasons cemeteries remove flowers, how to find out which one it was, and how to keep it from happening again.
Cemetery Rules
Flowers at a Green Burial Ground or Natural Cemetery: What Is Allowed
Natural burial grounds usually prohibit silk flowers, vases and anything that does not decompose. How to honor a grave in a conservation or green cemetery, and what to do instead of a standard arrangement.
Planning & How-To
How to Find Out Where Someone Is Buried: Records, Databases and Who to Call
Seven ways to find where someone is buried, in the order that works: obituaries, Find a Grave, BillionGraves, the VA locator, funeral homes and county records.
Remembering From Afar
The First Visit to a Grave After the Burial: What to Expect and What to Bring
The first visit back is different from the funeral. What the grave will look like, when the headstone arrives, what to bring, and how to make the visit something you can do again.
Cemetery Rules
Flowers for a Mausoleum Crypt or Columbarium Niche: What Fits and What Is Allowed
What a mausoleum crypt and a columbarium niche are, the small vases they have, what size arrangement fits, and the stricter rules of indoor spaces.
Planning & How-To
How to Create and Manage a Find a Grave Memorial for a Loved One
Find a Grave is the largest public record of American graves. How to search for an existing memorial, create one, add photos and the plot, request a headstone photo, and take over management of a memorial someone else made.
What to Put on a Grave
Jewish Grave Customs: Why Stones Instead of Flowers, and What Is Appropriate to Send
Jewish cemeteries have their own traditions: stones on the grave, the unveiling, yahrzeit, and a general preference against flowers. What visitors and friends should know before sending anything.
Cemetery Rules
Cemetery Etiquette: How to Visit a Grave Respectfully
Most cemeteries open at dawn and close at dusk, and many lock their gates at night. Cemetery hours, where to walk, what to bring, and how to visit respectfully.
Grave & Headstone Care
How to Clean a Headstone Safely: What to Use and What Will Ruin It
Water, a soft brush and patience clean most headstones. Bleach, wire brushes and pressure washers destroy them. A safe method for granite, marble and bronze, and when to call a professional.
Planning & How-To
How to Find a Grave in a Cemetery: Records, Find a Grave and Reading a Plot Map
Find the grave online first with Find a Grave, the VA gravesite locator and cemetery records, then use the section, lot and plot map to walk straight to it.
Veterans & Military Honors
Flowers at a Veteran's Grave: National Cemetery Rules, Windows and What to Send
VA national cemetery flower rules, from DFW to Great Lakes: fresh flowers any day, artificial flowers only on each cemetery's own dates, no glass.
Cemetery Rules
Cemetery Flower Rules: What You Can Leave at a Grave, and When It Gets Removed
What you can leave at a grave, which flowers and vases cemeteries allow, when crews clear everything, and how to leave flowers so they stay.