For those wanting the most natural effect for a new or expanded cremation garden, at the present time anything other than our cast stone memorial rocks and trees is not a practical solution when faced with the task of finding an adequate number of appropriately-sized real boulders--much less ones with a flat enough surface for a plaque--and managing the costs and logistics of the manpower and equipment necessary to install them.

Furthermore, the issue of where to place the cremains, or a vault with the cremains, is called into question when using real rocks or tree stumps rather than our cast stone replicas since gaining easy access to the space below a heavy natural rock or tree is normally impossible.

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How many years will the monuments last?
Due to modern high-performance polymers and other scientifically-developed, construction-grade admixtures, our GFRC cast stone replications are designed to last for decades and typically wear in the same manner with only minimal maintenance and care (primarily in climates with freeze-thaw conditions).

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Will they increase my grounds maintenance costs?
Actually, if installed properly, our memorial rocks and trees can help reduce costs such as mowing and watering since they look even more attractive than being placed on grass lawns when they are nestled among landscaping such as crushed granite pathways, low drought-tolerant plants, woodchips or mulch.

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Do you have a good cremation garden success story?
After discovering GFRC cast stone memorial rocks, one of the United States' most prestigious memorial parks transformed about a 1/3 acre of brush-covered property they once considered unusable due to its sloping terrain, rocky soil and tree root growth into a prime cremation profit center when they installed nearly 600 such replicated rocks among pathways, benches and other memorialization products.

They reportedly predicted this first phase of memorial rocks (installed above in-ground concrete vaults that hold up to four sets of cremains) would sell out in 7-10 years at the retail price of $4,500 each, but based on sales activity just prior to and after their grand opening they estimated they will sell out the nearly $2.7 million worth of inventory in a fraction of that time and are already planning additional phases at their other properties.

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How much space is needed for a cremation garden?
Areas as small as a few hundred square feet up to a quarter acre can be used for a cremation garden while cemeteries or memorial parks with more acreage also have the flexibility of creating cremation trails.

Cremation gardens are ideal for awkward-sized areas of property that aren't suitable for traditional burial space such as lot corners, near individual or groves of trees, and hillsides.

Ironically, planners are discovering it is the very spaces cemetery and memorial park owners and managers have always felt were unusable (due to sloping terrain, rocky soil, tree growth, running creeks or other natural obstacles) which are actually some of the best locations where they can locate cremation garden or trail projects.

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Should we order the memorial rocks and trees in quantities?
Although we sell our products individually, the most promising cremation garden plans using our memorial rocks and trees are those where phases of at least 20-30 of them are pre-installed in an area all at once.

Our products are effective for pre-need sales programs since, when it's time to present cremation options to couples or families, sales counselors are able to take them outside on a refreshing stroll through the pathways of a garden or nature trail where they can choose from the different shapes and locations of our memorial rocks and trees already in place.

It makes sense that when they tour a cremation area with the memorial rocks and trees in their permanent position, pre-need clients frequently want to purchase two or more of them in their favorite part of the garden, creating almost a "family estate," rather than risk other family members not being interred closely nearby if they don't reserve the memorials now.

Placing our memorial rocks and trees one at a time as they are sold rarely gives families the impression that there is a formal design for the cremation garden which may cause them to think they can pick and choose any spot they want their model to be placed. Given the choice in this scenario, it's logical they will select the best location for their memorial rock(s) or tree(s)--one that could have garnished a premium price if part of a planned development and mix of pre-installed memorialization products.

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How are your products being priced by others?
Our products--and the property below them--are being priced anywhere from $2,800 to $5,600 depending on the local market, amount of space dedicated to each memorial rock or tree, and the number of amenities that are devoted to creating the serene, landscaped setting that their families might expect from a cremation garden or nature trail.

Cemeterians appreciate the profit opportunities possible with our memorial rocks and trees since they offer a more exclusive, individualized cremation option that is far different than columbariums which some complain as being impersonal "high-rises" where the names of those interred are unrecognizable beyond neck-stretching height.

Finally, cemeterians tell us, our memorial rocks and trees will enable them to sell small spaces of their valuable real estate--even those they had previously felt were unusable due to their location or awkward size--at premium prices to nature-loving cremation clients who surveys say tend to be more educated and environmentally-aware than the average population.

If they require that cremains interred below our memorial rocks and trees be first placed inside a protective container, cemeterians can earn additional revenue from sales of urn vaults as inexpensive or stately as their customers desire (such as those offered by Trigard, Triple H, Wilbert or Doric).

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How are cremains installed under the memorials?
A variety of cremation garden planners are taking an environmentally-friendly approach by establishing a policy of interring cremains in the soil below our memorial rocks without any wood, metal or concrete containers or vaults. They feel this is in keeping with a more natural cremation garden concept that some want to maintain.

Other cemeterians are less concerned with this and are allowing interments of cremains with or without a vault while still others have strict policies of only interring cremains when inside an urn vault which they are correct in thinking can more easily be reopened to add additional sets of cremains if necessary in the future.  If they choose this method, cemeterians are purchasing products from their usual supplier according to whether their families want a simple, affordable single or double urn vault or a more elaborate and expensive one.

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What should we keep in mind about the memorials' placement?
To create the most natural looking project, random placement of our memorial rocks and trees is essential as long as you have a good way to map each one's location (see below). It is also important to place each monument so none of them are any further than 4-6 feet from a path or walkway to allow guests to easily view the text on the bronze plaques. If any of the memorials are located too for away from a path, visitors will tend to venture off the walkways to touch their loved one's rock or tree or place flowers or mementos near them which could damage nearby landscaping.

Beyond these considerations there aren't many other design limitations except to install the memorial rocks and trees according to what looks best to you, a task made easier if there are existing trees, creeks or other natural elements that can serve as anchors or centerpieces for the development.

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What's the best way to identify each rock and tree's location?
For accurate record-keeping, and the benefit of pre-need sales staff who are required to know which monuments are sold or still available, it is essential to map the exact location of every monument.

Mapping out a cremation garden on a grid or other system of their choosing--depending on how densely the monuments have been installed--helps them know the whereabouts of each memorial rock and tree which can be further identified by attaching a one-inch sequentially-numbered aluminum, steel or brass ID tag in a discreet location on the back-side of each rock using epoxy adhesive. (These can cost approx. $3 each. Search the Internet for "Stainless Steel Tags" to find a supplier or contact us for assistance).

Cross-check identification of the memorial rocks and trees is also possible by keeping record of the individual sequentially-numbered cable seals underneath each memorial (but only if the cable seal system was used as recommended below to connect a chain to our heavy-duty anti-theft metal eye bolt manufactured under each memorial).

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Should we worry about theft of the memorial rocks and trees?
Once cemeterians see how realistic the 50-60 lb. memorial rocks look (our trees are pretty lifelike too), they often agree it's unlikely anyone is going to bother with what appears to be an 800 lb. natural rock that would require incredible effort to move.

However, if they feel it's necessary in their community, we will suggest to cremation garden planners that they utilize the heavy-duty anti-theft metal eye bolts manufactured underneath each memorial. To use this feature, they purchase three items from a supplier in as much quantity as needed: 1). Sequentially-numbered "cable seals," 2). Quick-drying cement, and 3). Three-foot-long pieces of sturdy 2/0 or 3/0 straight link chain (75 cents-$1 per foot).

Note: Cable seals are constructed of a rust-proof aluminum body with sequential numbering and feature a heavy-duty 1/8" thick aircraft cable that can stand upwards of 3,000 lbs. of pressure. They are the same type recommended by a shipping industry advisory committee to the United States Departments of Homeland Security and Treasury to ensure the lock-tight safety of international ocean container cargo.

There are two main varieties of cable seals--One is a fixed length and can be fit to any size application. The other type is of a variable length, pull-through construction. Once the cable end is looped back through a hole in the seal body and pulled tight, a key is then inserted into the body and turned until it snaps off, leaving the head tightly recessed in the body and locking the cable in place. Once the cable is secured in either type, it can only be removed by bolt cutters. (They cost approx. $2 each. Search the Internet for "Cable Seal" or "Container Cable Seal" to find a supplier. We recommend shopping at www.Shippers-Mall.com for their Cable Security Seals: Mini Cable--Stock #CBLM0001).

They should then dig a hole below--but to the side of--where each memorial will be finally placed (leaving space directly beneath it for the cremains and/or urn vaults). Next they should use a cable seal to secure one end of the chain onto the metal eye bolt, fill the hole with the cement slurry, push as much of the remaining length of chain into the cement, and rest the memorial rock or tree over the holes where the chain can dry in the cement and serve as an anchor.

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Do you offer in-house cremation garden design services?
Unfortunately not at this time, but upon request we will be pleased to refer cemeterians to one or more national death care industry design firms that specialize in cremation garden planning. Note that impressive cremation garden plans have also been created by cemetery and memorial park superintendents, grounds staff and local landscape architects.

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Are there risks having too many options in our cremation garden?
Good question. We know of a beautiful cremation garden that was created with an impressive mix of memorialization products placed throughout it. Everyone thought it would be a tremendous success based on the design and large selection...and it is!

But something happened they didn't anticipate: Both the sales staff and pre-need and at-need families tended almost immediately to gravitate towards particular products that caught their interest the most, resulting in many sells of those items.

Despite management's encouragement, the sales staff was somewhat reluctant to promote the less popular cremation options since their families continued to show interest in the other products which soon were completely sold.

After the favorite items were unavailable, the sales staff was then faced with telling families during tours of the garden that their first choice was sold out as they showed the other products that were as mildly received by them as they were by previous customers. This created a sense among customers that they were not being given what they really wanted...a reputation no business wants to foster.

In their attempt to be seen as offering a large variety of items, sometimes business owners dilute their profit potential by trying to carry too many products.

Especially in a cremation garden where adding or removing memorialization options can be difficult if not impossible after the project is completed, it's just as important to determine which products are most likely going to be popular with families as it is the sales staff who will be promoting them.

Once unique, practical and affordable products such as our memorial rocks and trees receive positive feedback by customers and staff through formal or informal surveys, it makes it easier to give them the "lead role" at a cremation garden instead of having an expansive "menu" and trying to give equal status to too many items, thereby causing the problem described above.

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Can you help with marketing our cremation garden?
Absolutely! We offer a variety of marketing support services to our active customers such as product sheets, posters, grand opening planning, public relations and website design. Please contact us to discuss your needs further.

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