A heartfelt argument for keeping artificial floral tributes where they belong — on the monuments of our loved ones.
There's a quiet debate happening in cemeteries across Atlantic Canada right now, and it's one that touches the hearts of families from Corner Brook to Cape Breton and everywhere in between.
Some cemeteries are moving to ban artificial flowers — and while the intention may be to keep grounds looking tidy, the reality for many families is far more complicated than that.
Saddles Are Actually Easier to Maintain
Here's something that often gets overlooked in this conversation: a properly made memorial saddle sits directly on top of a headstone. There's nothing on the ground. Nothing to mow around. Nothing for a lawnmower to knock over or scatter across the cemetery. In fact, saddles make a groundskeeper's job easier, not harder. If cemetery maintenance is the concern, saddles may actually be part of the solution.
Distance Makes Real Flowers Impossible
Atlantic Canada has one of the highest rates of out-migration in the country. Our children move away for work. Our families scatter across the country and beyond. For many people, the cemetery where their mother, father, or child is buried is hours away — or across an ocean.
Real flowers are beautiful. But they're gone in a week. For a family in Alberta visiting a grave in Newfoundland once a year, a quality silk saddle means their loved one's resting place looks cared for and remembered every single day — not just the day they visit.
A saddle says "you are still loved" long after the visit is over. 💕
It's About Dignity and Choice
For seniors and those with limited mobility, maintaining a gravesite with fresh flowers regularly simply isn't possible. Artificial arrangements — and saddles in particular — give every family, regardless of income, distance, or ability, the dignity of honouring their loved ones the way they choose.
Cemeteries are places of comfort. They should feel welcoming, not restrictive.
The Bottom Line
Banning artificial flowers doesn't make cemeteries more beautiful. It makes them harder to love — especially from a distance.
We hope cemetery associations across Atlantic Canada will reconsider blanket bans and instead work with families to find solutions that keep our sacred spaces both beautiful and accessible to all. 💙
GG's Handmade Creations handcrafts memorial saddles from our little studio in Scotch Village, Nova Scotia. Each one is made with care and designed to honour your loved ones with beauty that lasts. Shop our memorial saddles here.
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