The following regulations tell what is permitted and what is not permitted in grave decorations.  Please remember that all decoration regulations exist more to protect the families rather than to hinder them.  While we all may not agree, the cemetery has tried to establish the fairest set of rules for all families and tries to enforce them reasonably and uniformly.

 

General Provisions

Hundreds of people visit the cemetery each year; many visit in a single day.  Because the cemetery is open to the public, it is very difficult to control the activity of every visitor.  We regret we cannot protect decorations from damage or theft.

 

Ø       Please do not outline graves by stripping a border of sod in or around the grave. 

 

Ø       To avoid damage to lawns, please park on the roads, not on the grass.

 

Ø       Please use the rubbish containers throughout the cemetery.

 

Ø       Pets, other than service animals, are not permitted in the cemetery or in any building in the cemetery at any time.

 

All decorations and plantings become the property of Saint Mary Cemetery and based upon their judgment the staff will remove any and all decorations and plantings that:

1. Fail to conform to the size and/or material limitations*
2. Become withered and/or unsightly

 

*Material limitations such as, but not limited to: vases, jars, bottles, styrofoam, crockery, statuary, cans, vigil lights, stuffed animals, toys, ornaments, paper-maché, marble chips, coping, edging, etc.

 

For safety and insurance reasons, artificial decorations are not allowed except as follows:

1. During the winter season (Thanksgiving through March 1^st)
2. Inside Mausoleums

 

Year Round Guidelines

Ø       For safety reasons, no crushed stones will be allowed on any graves in front of monuments or around flush markers.  Placing stones or bricks in front of monuments or flush markers is not permitted, and these will be removed.

 

Ø       Grave blankets or sprays will not be permitted and will be removed.

 

Ø       Palms and Easter flowers are permitted one week prior to Palm Sunday and may remain one week after Easter.  After this time, all Palms and Easter flowers will be removed.

 

Ø       If you wish to save your decorations, please remove them within the periods indicated.

Decorations for the Growing Season      April 15^th through Thanksgiving

 

Flush Mark er Section

 

Ø       Live potted plants and flower boxes are permitted on top of flush markers only.

 

Ø       In-ground plantings around flush markers are not permitted and will be removed.

 

Ø       All wilted flowers will be removed by Cemetery personnel without notice.

 

Ø       Artificial flowers will be removed by Cemetery personnel without notice.

 

Monument Section

 

Ø       Plantings of flowers are permitted in front of monuments, not to exceed the width of the monument, and not to exceed more than 12” in front of the monument.

 

Ø       No planting of trees, shrubbery is permitted.

 

Ø       Potted plants and flower boxes are permitted in front of monuments, not to exceed the same limitations stated above.

 

Ø       Artificial flowers will be removed by Cemetery personnel without notice.

 

 Mausoleums

 

Ø       Live plotted plants and fresh flowers will be permitted in the mausoleums.

 

Ø       Prior to the construction of a mausoleum on a designated mausoleum plot, a full set of drawings must be submitted to Cemetery personnel for approval.

 

Ø       All landscaping designs for mausoleums must be submitted to and approved by Cemetery personnel prior to construction.

 

Ø       Should the plot owner erect a monument or any structure other than a mausoleum, the lot will be considered a gravesite and not a mausoleum plot and therefore will be subject to the same guidelines and regulations of a monument section.

 

Columbarium

 

Ø       No niche vases or emblems may be affixed to the niche fronts.

 

Ø       No plants, flowers or statuary is permitted in the Saint Mary Garden Columbarium.

 

Decorations for the Non-Growing Season     

                                               Monday before Thanksgiving through March 1^st

 

Flush Mark er Section

 

Ø       Artificial flowers and/or evergreen boughs in boxes or pots may be placed on top of flush markers only.

 

Monument Section

 

Ø       Anything installed in or on the ground must be lowered or removed after the growing season.

 

Ø       Christmas wreaths may be a maximum of 24” and may either be placed in the 12” area in front of the monument or secured to the monument.

 

Ø      Artificial flowers and/or evergreen boughs in boxes or pots may be placed in the 12” area in front of the monument.