Case Study · City of Lowell Cemeteries
Restoring Cemetery Gardens for People and Pollinators
At Westlawn II Cemetery and Edson Cemetery, Tell the Bees helped transform difficult, underperforming beds into living garden spaces with native and pollinator-supporting plants.
Westlawn II entrance gardens
Edson Cemetery entrance gardens
Edson Cemetery flagpole garden
Native planting
The Starting Point
Before new planting could happen, the beds had to become real gardens again.
Much of the work began with planting areas that could no longer sustain healthy plants.
Over many years, layers of mulch had been added on top of thick plastic lining. In some areas, the mulch layer was up to 24 inches deep. Previous plantings were not reaching living soil. They were being placed into old mulch sitting above plastic, with little chance to establish lasting root systems.
The first phase was not simply a matter of adding new plants. It was a process of opening the beds back up, removing the barrier, and rebuilding the conditions that plants need in order to survive.
We removed the plastic liner and stripped out the accumulated mulch, filling three dump trucks with old mulch alone.
The Work
Three garden areas, one shared purpose.
Tell the Bees worked with City of Lowell Cemeteries on the Westlawn II Cemetery entrance gardens, the Edson Cemetery entrance gardens, and the Edson Cemetery flagpole garden.
Westlawn II Cemetery entrance gardens
Rebuilt entrance planting areas with brighter, more resilient garden character.
Edson Cemetery entrance gardens
Strengthened the arrival experience with structured, pollinator-supporting planting.
Edson Cemetery flagpole garden
Added seasonal color, texture, and intentional planting around a central civic feature.
Native pollinator approach
Selected for sun, seasonal interest, pollinator value, and lower water needs once established.
Many visitors stopped during planting to say the new gardens brightened their day, made their visit feel more special, or to share stories of plants from a parent’s garden, a childhood yard, or a place they once loved.
Notes from work at City of Lowell Cemeteries
Why It Matters
A cemetery garden is never just a garden.
In a cemetery, the landscape carries emotional weight. People arrive with grief, memory, stress, love, and reflection. A living garden can soften that experience without trying to explain it away.
The new plantings at Westlawn II Cemetery and Edson Cemetery bring color, movement, seasonal change, and signs of life into places where visitors may need a moment of beauty.
That human response was visible during the work itself. Visitors stopped to ask what was being planted. They shared stories about flowers they remembered. They noticed the change before the gardens were even fully established.
Pollinator Value
Replacing failed mulch beds with living habitat.
The work also supports the health and wellbeing of pollinators. By replacing depleted mulch beds with layered perennial planting, City of Lowell Cemeteries is creating small but meaningful habitat for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.
The planting approach favors native and native-compatible species with seasonal bloom, drought tolerance once established, and strong visual character. These gardens are meant to be practical, beautiful, and alive.
5
cemetery garden areas improved through this phase of work
3
dump trucks filled with old mulch removed from the beds
24″
mulch depth found in some areas above plastic lining
What Comes Next
These gardens point toward a larger opportunity.
The work at Westlawn II Cemetery and Edson Cemetery shows how underperforming cemetery beds can become places that serve both people and pollinators.
It also creates a strong foundation for future projects with City of Lowell Cemeteries, including a Tell the Bees Garden near the Columbarium and a possible Scattering Garden in an area not suitable for traditional ground burial.
Each project can build on the same core idea: cemetery landscapes can be beautiful, practical, ecological, and emotionally supportive at the same time.
Work With Tell the Bees
Have a difficult landscape that could become something more alive?
Tell the Bees works with cemeteries, recovery centers, senior living communities, and civic landscapes to create native pollinator gardens that support people, pollinators, and the places that hold them.
A small first phase can often reveal what a site is ready to become.