About That New Grave

 Day after day there are fresh graves in this cemetery marking new burial places, perhaps for your loved one. For a time the grave will look rough. But, in time the grave will be restored to its original condition– level, with thick turf, identical to the surrounding grass.But, it won’t happen immediately. Why? The season of the year has so much to do with out ability to restore graves. Of necessity, during the cool and cold times of the year no grass will grow, nor will dirt move, nor water flow. 

When it is warm and the rains fall, progress can be made. We must respect the processes of nature and nurture in order to complete the work beautifully. Immediately after the burial, the grave is back-filled, leaving a rather high mound of bare, often lumpy dirt (see A).
 

Most of this will disappear as the soil works its way down beside the burial vault. More dirt may be hauled in. the ground might settle that much. Then, we bring in hoses and heavily soak the ground so the soil obeys gravity and becomes more compact. Next we cut a clean edge in the adjacent turf and tamp the dirt flat down with a machine, leaving the entire grave flush with the area (see B).

​In final preparation for sodding, we put a new 2-inch layer of pulverized topsoil on the grave and then roll out top-quality  sod (see C).

The new sod needs plenty of water, whether from the heavens or from the cemetery taps. The grassroots must spread quickly and permanently into the soft upper layer of dirt. The sod will settle level as everything compacts. The restoration is finished (see D).   May the work on the grave itself symbolize your own healing and renewal in aftermath of a death.