How To Plant A Memory Rose Garden

May 28, 2016May 30, 2016 Gaga

Planting A Patriotic Memory Rose Garden

Planting a ‘Memory Garden’ of roses gives you a connection to your loved ones that can keep your memories of them alive. Its easy. Here’s how:

1. Decide who you want to memorialize.
2. Pick a spot with 6-8 hours of sun.
3. Look up names of roses to plant as a tribute to loved ones.
4. Roses that are great roses for patriotic gardens are ‘Memorial Day’
   1.  ‘Veteran’s Honor’
   2.  ‘Memorial Day’
   3. ‘Mr. Lincoln
   4. ‘Let Freedom Ring’

“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”

James A. Garfield
May 30, 1868 Arlington National Cemetery

1. Veteran’s Honor

“Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.

During that first national celebration, former Union Gen. and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried there.

This event was inspired by local observances of the day that had taken place in several towns throughout America in the three years after the Civil War. In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday.

By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities observed Memorial Day, and several states had declared it a legal holiday. After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States.

When Is Memorial Day?

In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Several southern states, however, officially celebrate an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead, sometimes referred to as a Confederate Memorial Day: January 19 in Texas; third Monday in Jan. in Arkansas; fourth Monday in Apr. in Alabama and Mississippi; April 26 in Florida and Georgia; May 10 in North and South Carolina; last Monday in May in Virginia; and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.” * PBS.org educating folks on the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Daddy served in England during WWII. He never talked about the war.  Mother told me about what she knew of his experiences during the war. If you want to watch a 4 Star PBS series about living in England while England was attacked from above by the German Luftwaffe air raids and bombings during WWII watch the PBS series available on Netflix called Foley’s War. I highly recommend it. It gave me a better understanding of what it must be like to live in a country under the siege of war.

My father was in England during World War II, and suffered a War related injury. I would like to thank my Father and all those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom.