Wildwood Cemetery was designed at a time when cemeteries were being developed outside of town and city centers during what is now referred to as the Rural Cemetery Movement. The original layout was inspired by the work of the famous NY Central Park designer Fredrick Law Olmsted. in fact, Olmsted was asked to come to Amherst and consult, but he wrote back that his schedule could not accommodate the request and instead he sent copies of several articles he had written and a plant list. Since that time, Grounds Superintendents at Wildwood have asked that the lot owners plant only native species.
So what is native? To answer that question please click through the following links. Your planting choices will be limited by supplies at our local gardening stores, but they are an excellent source of information and healthy plants.
Spring Blooming Native Plants - https://www.thespruce.com/native-plant-landscaping-in-new-england-shade-gardens-2132964
North American - https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/north-american-plants-for-new-england-gardens
Native Trees for Northern New England - https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/nattree.htm
Edible Native New England Plants - https://www.ecolandscaping.org/09/developing-healthy-landscapes/ecological-landscaping-101/edible-and-landscape-worthy-native-plants-of-new-england/
Native Plants of Massachusetts - Mass Audubon: Native Plants of Massachusetts
Native Plants for New England Gardens, by Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493029259/Native-Plants-for-New-England-Gardens
* If you are thinking about planting a bush or a tree, you must do this in consultation with Wildwood Cemetery General Manager. It is important that your choice be right not only for your lot, but the surrounding lots.
* All plantings must be done on your lot and next to your monument. Special permission can be granted to plant off of your lot.
* Non native plants can be placed at graves within containers.
* No barriers (mulch, stones, fences) of any kind are allowed around graves or monuments.
Wildwood is currently working on eliminating several prominent invasive species including Bittersweet and Tree of Heaven. Both of these species have done terrible damage to our trees and the Tree of Heaven is a favorite food of an invasive insect coming up from the south. In the process of cleaning up brush patches we are uncovering monuments and lot corners that have been obscured for decades. Rest assured we will be carefully planting new native bushes that will serve as home and food for our wildlife.
So what is native? To answer that question please click through the following links. Your planting choices will be limited by supplies at our local gardening stores, but they are an excellent source of information and healthy plants.
Spring Blooming Native Plants - https://www.thespruce.com/native-plant-landscaping-in-new-england-shade-gardens-2132964
North American - https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/north-american-plants-for-new-england-gardens
Native Trees for Northern New England - https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/nattree.htm
Edible Native New England Plants - https://www.ecolandscaping.org/09/developing-healthy-landscapes/ecological-landscaping-101/edible-and-landscape-worthy-native-plants-of-new-england/
Native Plants of Massachusetts - Mass Audubon: Native Plants of Massachusetts
Native Plants for New England Gardens, by Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493029259/Native-Plants-for-New-England-Gardens
* If you are thinking about planting a bush or a tree, you must do this in consultation with Wildwood Cemetery General Manager. It is important that your choice be right not only for your lot, but the surrounding lots.
* All plantings must be done on your lot and next to your monument. Special permission can be granted to plant off of your lot.
* Non native plants can be placed at graves within containers.
* No barriers (mulch, stones, fences) of any kind are allowed around graves or monuments.
Wildwood is currently working on eliminating several prominent invasive species including Bittersweet and Tree of Heaven. Both of these species have done terrible damage to our trees and the Tree of Heaven is a favorite food of an invasive insect coming up from the south. In the process of cleaning up brush patches we are uncovering monuments and lot corners that have been obscured for decades. Rest assured we will be carefully planting new native bushes that will serve as home and food for our wildlife.
Permanent Vase idea - Here is an example of a permanent vase you can install next to your marker. There are many options like this one.
https://cemetery-supply.com/product/lifetime-vase/
https://cemetery-supply.com/product/lifetime-vase/
See below for directions on how to plant on your lot. You can also call the office for more information.
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