Summerville, South Carolina

Footprints ~ On the Flag:  But maybe not your footprints! Recognize the university emblem? Summerville Cemetery. [2012]

Odessa, Delaware

Voices from the Land of the Living ~ Third Person Singular Subjective Case:  "If she lives in your heart, she will never die." Drawyers Cemetery. [2018]

Darien, Connecticut

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ K:  The letter K is the 22nd most frequently used letter in the English language. Here's the K on a quilt-like garden flag, where it shares the summer with red-white-and-blue icons of nationhood. The color coordination is striking, right down to the carnations. Spring Grove Cemetery. [2018]

Winchester, Kentucky

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ D:  The letter D is the 10th most frequently used letter in the English language. Here, it fills the belly of a penguin on a garden flag, adding a whimsical air to the grave of someone who died far too young. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]

Glen Castle, New York

Fantastical Birds and Where to Find Them: Go looking for those garden flags in cemeteries, and you might just find some birds. If they are as colorful as the goldfinch, they might even compete with the flowers for attention. Glen Castle Cemetery. [2017]

Falmouth, Virginia

Garden Flags as Aides Memoires:  You know he must have spent many hours at home keeping an eye on the birdhouses (probably more than one!) in his back yard. It's good to know those doves on his tombstone will have a place to nest tonight. New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery. [2017]

Gouldtown, New Jersey

Garden Flags as Aides Memoires:  An Indian lies buried here: a member of the Lenni Lenapi tribe. That may mean the owl symbolizes tribal wisdom. The Lenni Lenapi were the original inhabitants of the Delaware Valley, but the dreamcatcher has become a symbol of unity shared by all North American Indians. He probably caught many a dream in that dreamcatcher. Hope so, anyway. Gouldtown Memorial Park. [2013]

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Garden Flags as Aides Memoires:  She loved the farm: the cows, the pigs, the sheep, the goats. She loved the violets that bloomed everywhere in the spring, too. Now, she reminds everybody of the things that made a difference in her life. That just might include her husband, too. Is that him standing out in the pasture? Mechanicsburg Cemetery. [2014]

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

Garden Flags as Aides Memoires:  Small decorative flags are becoming ever more common in cemeteries. They are usually chosen to accentuate the virtues of a life well lived. The bereaved use them to bring out the personalities of their loved ones. What does this garden banner say about the person it honors? Patriotic, loved, memorable. The slogan "Always in Our Hearts" seems made for a cemetery, but most garden flags are simply repurposed to make graveyards feel more like home. Dillsburg Cemetery. [2013]