As Mother’s Day approaches, grave maintenance is at its peak: a specialist advises how to avoid mistakes

“Right now, there is as much work as before November 1st,” says Rūta Matulienė from Alytis, the manager of MB “Eram service”, which is engaged in the care and management of graves throughout Lithuania. In recent weeks, she and her team barely had time to turn around – with Mother’s Day approaching, Lithuanians rushed to clean the graves of their loved ones.

Applicants need various services: some want to arrange and plant the graves of their loved ones so that they are calm in the summer, others apply for grave care services throughout the warm season, and others only need a one-time gravesite cleanup for Mother’s Day.

R. Matulienė, who started a grave maintenance business about three years ago, notices that the attitude of Lithuanians towards the care of graves is rapidly changing – they are slowly abandoning great pomp, and more often they prefer a neat grave that is not overloaded with plants and decorations.

Very recently, the head of “Eram service” organized a series of free lectures in five major cities of the country – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys, on the landscaping and maintenance of graves, so that the maintenance of the graves of loved ones does not cause stress and worries to people.

During the meetings, three topics were discussed: how to plant a cemetery, how not to overpay when installing it, building a monument, how to combine the management of relatives’ graves and environmental protection. An ethnologist also gave an additional lecture in Panevėžys. “I really hope that something similar can be organized in Alytus next year,” says R. Matulienė.

For those lacking ideas on how to decorate the graves of loved ones in the run-up to Mother’s Day and beyond, she has some tips.

First of all, you should not overload the cemetery with flowers and colors. “I would suggest combining a maximum of three colors. Of course, you can combine them more, but for that you need to have a unique feeling. And it’s really rare to have it,” the interviewer notes, and she also urges not to plant a lot of flower bushes, which will later rot and not look beautiful, and to avoid tall flowers (maximum height – up to 40 cm).

For those who like orchids, she advises them to plant their bushes that bloom very sparingly, to choose small flowers – the flowers will please you with their flowers longer, and for those who want to prepare for Mother’s Day from autumn, plant primroses on the grave at the end of August or beginning of September, which are now at the peak of their flowering.

When replanting the cemetery, according to R. Matulienė, it would be better to abandon the planting of various trees and bushes. Firstly, the rules already prohibit planting trees in many cemeteries in the country, secondly, both trees and bushes will only grow over time and will certainly not resemble the original image, especially since their removal services are not cheap. It is said that both trees and shrubs can be replaced perfectly and decorative smaller or “creeping” plants can create a no worse view.

“And one more very important tip – don’t rush to prepare the graves of your loved ones for the summer before Mother’s Day. Now is the time when planted annual summer flowers can still freeze, I would advise you to wait until Father’s Day”, says the head of MB “Eram service”.