The Sacred Garden of the Frontier
A look at the sentimental and pious customs of 1878 Seattle, where the living turned to the Victorian language of flowers to honor the dead.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The custom of adorning the graves of the departed with flowers—emblems of beauty that fades so quickly and the life that is so short—has existed in all countries and in every age. The ancient Greeks crowned the dead with wreaths of flowers, and the mourners wore them at the celebration of the funeral rites. The Persians adorn the graves of their departed relatives with sweet basil; and the tombs in the cemeteries at Syria are garlanded with festoons of jessamine, roses, and orange and myrtle blossoms. Among the primitive Christians, this beautiful custom was at first discouraged, as savoring of paganism; but the feelings which prompt it are too deeply rooted in the human heart to be completely eradicated.
No flowers or evergreens are permitted to be planted on graves but such as are sweet-scented; the pink and polyanthus, sweet William, gilly-flowers and carnations, mignonette, thyme, hyssop, camomile and rosemary make up the pious decoration of this consecrated garden. The white rose is always planted on a virgin's tomb. The red rose is appropriate to the grave of any person distinguished for goodness, and especially benevolence of character. None ever molest the flowers that grow on graves, for it is deemed a kind of sacrilege to do so. A relation or friend will occasionally take a pink, if it can be spared, or a sprig of thyme, from the grave of a beloved or respected person, to wear it in remembrance; but they never take much, lest they should deface the growth on the grave. This custom prevails principally in the most retired villages.
“The white rose is always planted on a virgin's tomb. The red rose is appropriate to the grave of any person distinguished for goodness, and especially benevolence of character.”
While Seattle has rapidly transformed from a frontier outpost into a high-density metropolis, the human impulse to maintain 'consecrated gardens' remains a constant. Today, this tradition persists in the city's care for its historic burial grounds, such as Lake View Cemetery, mirroring the Victorian belief that the spaces we cultivate for the dead reflect the values of the living.
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