Garden Surround
Although a full surround is not permitted in most open-plan lawn cemeteries, often a "garden surround" is still allowed. These are placed in front of the headstone and are usually the width of the headstone or width of the grave and project foward by 1-2 feet / 30-60 cm in front of the memorial. Bounded by granite kerbs to match the headstone, the interior is often planted or of contrete covered in gravel / chippings.
Garden surround where more popular in the past, but as they are costly, need to be removed and re-instated each time there is a burial and tend to give maintenance issues as they tend to sink as the grave settles, pulling away from the headstone, they have become a lot less common in recent years.
Although grave surrounds are no longer permitted in most Council cemeteries, they are still allowed in older cemeteries and church graveyards.
Often the interior of a surround is concreted and topped with gravel / chippings. (See above for details). It is important to remember that once a surround is added to a grave, the maintenance of that grave reverts from the cemetery owner / operator to the family. This is important to consider before choosing to add a grave surround, as it places additional responsibility on family mambers for generations to come. Grave surrounds are costly and easily damaged when opening a grave, so have become less popular in recent years.
For these reasons we no longer fit garden surrounds, but we have contact with contractors who do and can provide you with details should this be something you are interested in. Please contact us for their details.