Chloe's Memorial Garden.

I posted in the pet section about the passing of my ganddog, and former family dog, Chloe. She lived with my daughter Paige the last 5 years of her life, after Paige moved out and got married. We chose to bury her in my yard instead of Paige's for a variety of reasons, part of which is that Paige is in a newly built home that they moved into just before Christmas, and they haven't landscaped her back yard yet so it was going to be very difficult choosing a spot for Chloe's resting place.

I chose a spot in my backyard where it looks like there used to be a garden. There were some railroad ties that I guess were the border, even though nothing but weeds was growing there. The guy that comes to mow just used his weed eater to cut them back along with all the other weed eating he does.

Also (and I hope I don't sound morbid, I'm just a planner by nature) that spot is big enough that when my own dogs pass (I can barely think about that! :'( ) there will be plenty of room for them, too, so I'll end up with a Memorial Garden for all our furry family, and I really like that idea.





The garden is at the base and to the side of the stairs that access our back deck from the back yard. I chose daylilies, because they have happy flowers and the plants last forever, purple hydrangea because it's so pretty and Paige's favorite color, and clematis because it will never stop growing and winding itself around whatever it touches, which is just the way Chloe was with the people she loved.

The ivy was already there, and makes a nice backdrop. There's room on either side of what you can see in the picture to expand the garden, and I'll be prepping the soil and mulching it this weekend to make it look more cultivated. I also need to find a little more border because it just kind of fades into the grass on the one side.

Paige was SO happy I was able to make it a pretty little garden. It helped her a lot I think, and made her grieving a little less acute. I've also ordered a memorial stone which I'll put down in place of the paper sign.

I wanted to ask what other plants would be good there. It doesn't get a lot of sun, and I don't know much about shade plants other than the most common like hostas. I'm actually not quite sure how much sun it gets because I hadn't paid that much attention yet, as I wasn't planning to work on this garden area till maybe next season. Everything I've planted so far was chosen because I've planted them before in part shade spots, and they've done well.

Any advice for anything else? It gets some morning sun but then is shaded by the house the rest of the afternoon.

 

I made a flower bed for Chance. She loved to brush up against the rosemary bush so I planted rosemary. I put in petunias and marigolds. They have filled the entire space. I'm not sure what I will put in the space in winter. The rosemary will still be there but the flowers will die out. I'm glad you made a space for your dog, too. They sure become part of the family quickly. I was just talking to Chance last night while I was making supper and she passed away in March.

dooley

 

That's a lovely area and a very lovely sentiment.

 

That is so beautiful that you did that. I have a pet cemetery in the back of our property. There is a stepping stone, a few dog statues and a little fence around it.

Now I had Stirling for 14 years, and Cricket for another 14 years, and my daughters Hammy the hamster, Sammy the lovebird and Simon along with 2 other ferrets, a very special parakeet. Now I knew I wasn't going to live in that place forever and really wanted my pets with me in my retirement days, so they all got frozen upon their demise. All our pet store customers know the dogs well. So it was an ongoing joke that I put the dogs in the freezer, sounds like they were alive, NOT.....but funny. Anyway, when we bought our retirement home we hired a backhoe guy and had him dig 5 feet down and buried them all in one day. We were all there. My daughter said that she would like to be put there with them when she passed.

When she passed we had her cremated and put some of her ashes along with s little of my moms in a jar and dug a hole and buried the bottle. I know that would be frowned upon but that's what my mom and daughter wanted.

Now we have a very nice place to go when we want to meditate about our close loved ones.

 

Thanks for all your kind words. This hasn't been the easiest few days.

Eileen thank you so much for this! I had no idea there was anything available as a Chloe namesake! I've had some trouble finding anything that could be shipped to me from any of the reputable online nurseries. I did however find an Amazon retailer who is selling seeds. And also, upon researching the flower, discovered it's a very common and favorite houseplant in Great Britain, and will grow well as a houseplant here, too.

I'm thinking that even when I find the plant for Chloe's garden, it would also be fun to grow the plant from seeds, and then present one to Paige as a houseplant for her, and I'll have one for me! I won't say anything to her in case I can't manage to pull it off, but it will be a nice project to work on for the next little while, and see how far I get.

What do you all think of that idea?

 

I like your idea. Go for it!