Cemetery Sculpture

A lawn cemetery (as the name suggests) is covered in grass. Each grave is marked with a commemorative plaque (around 30 cm x 20 cm is typical) placed horizontally at the head of the grave at ground-level. While families are normally still involved in the design and information contained on the plaque, generally the size and materials of the plaque are constrained by the cemetery authorities, who often strongly encourage (or in some cases mandate) the use of a standard design.
Typically, lawn cemeteries comprise a number of graves in this lawn setting with trees and gardens on the perimeter. While aesthetic appeal to family members has been the primary driver for the development of lawn cemeteries, cemetery authorities were initially very enthusiastic about this new style of cemetery, as they appeared to be easier to maintain. By initially selecting (or grading) the land intended for a lawn cemetery to be completely flat, it allows the use of large efficient mowers (such as ride-on mowers or lawn tractors) to be used as the plaques (being horizontally set in the ground) lie below the level of the blades and are not damaged by the blades. Unfortunately, in practice, while families are often initially attracted to the uncluttered appearance of a lawn cemetery, the common practice of placing flowers (sometimes in vases) and increasingly other items (e.g. small toys on children's graves) re-introduces some clutter to the cemetery and makes it difficult to use the larger mowers. While cemetery authorities increasingly impose restrictions on the nature and type of objects that can be placed on lawn graves and actively remove prohibited items, grieving families are often unwilling to comply with these restrictions and become very upset if the items are removed. Another problem with lawn cemeteries is that over time the grass can grow over and cover the plaque to the distress of families who can no longer easily locate the grave. Grasses that propagate by an above-ground stolon (aka runner) can cover a plaque very quickly. Grasses that propagate by a below-ground rhizome tend not to cover the plaque as easily.
A lawn beam cemetery is a recent development which seeks to solve the problems of the lawn cemetery while retaining many of its benefits. Low (10–15 cm) raised concrete slabs (beams) are placed across the cemetery. Commemorative plaques (usually standardised in terms of size and materials similar to lawn cemeteries) are placed on these beams adjacent to each grave. The graves themselves are covered with grass like a lawn cemetery. The areas between the beams are large enough that they are easy to mow with a larger mower. As the mower blades are set lower than the top of the beam and the mowers do not go over the beam, the blades cannot damage the plaques. Up on the beam, the plaques cannot be easily overgrown by grass and there is space between the plaques for families to place flowers and other objects without interfering with the mowing.