What Is A Scattering Garden?
Cremation is the most common choice for final arrangements. It can align with family priorities, be more affordable than traditional casket burials, and be more environmentally friendly than other forms of disposition.
If you’re in the planning stages of making arrangements for a loved one who’s passed, you may have heard of scattering gardens. Many people are turning to these designated scattering areas to create a meaningful and elegant farewell. To help you learn more about your options, Farmstead Scattering explains exactly what scattering gardens are, why people choose them as a final resting place, and how they work.
What Are Scattering Gardens?
Scattering gardens are designated areas where cremated remains can be scattered. Often, they’re small areas in a cemetery, but there are also larger, more natural variations emerging as a preferred choice.
Because cremated remains are not ideal for soil due to their chemical composition and physical properties, environmentally conscious scattering gardens will track the weight and location of each scattering, allowing for a healthy soil microsystem. Doing so ensures healthy plant life, which also makes for a more picturesque farewell.
Why Choose A Scatter Garden?
For many people, a scattering garden is the perfect answer to the question: What do I do with my loved one’s ashes? It is a dedicated space where you can legally scatter ashes, eliminating the need to ask private property owners for permission or apply for a permit to scatter in a national park.
But it goes beyond just logistics and legality. Many people simply like the idea of their loved one’s ashes reunited with the earth.
Meeting A New Need
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), Americans are choosing cremation at historic rates. Their 2025 Cremation & Burial Report shows that cremation now accounts for 63.4% of dispositions and indicates that it’ll rise to 82.3% by 2045.
With an increase in cremation, there is also an increase in people looking for what to do with a loved one’s cremains. For some, keeping these ashes in an urn at home is preferred, as it brings them a sense of closeness to the deceased. For others, the right scattering garden can provide a respectful, meaningful, and full-circle send-off for their loved one.
Benefits of Scattering Gardens
Cremation, paired with a scattering garden ceremony, offers several advantages over traditional burials. Perhaps most notably, the affordability. Where a conventional casket burial costs between $7,000 and $12,000, cremation and a scattering ceremony cost between $750 and $3,000. Funeral profession experts also note that the rising cost of living and more geographically dispersed families are changing end-of-life choices.
Additionally, scattering cremains is one of the lowest-impact options available. It eliminates the need for single-use urns, vaults, and burial plots.
Further, as more Americans identify as non-religious, traditional funerals are steadily declining. With fewer religious barriers to scattering ceremonies, those who are seeking a secular yet meaningful celebration of life have more options.
Finally, there is also something beautiful about the simplicity and elegance of ash scattering ceremonies. It is a true “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” send-off that reunites a person with the earth.
Choosing Where to Scatter Ashes
Once you decide that an ash scattering ceremony is right for you and your family, you’ll have to consider locations. There are scattering gardens in every state and mail-in ash scattering services for those looking to scatter ashes in a place where they don’t reside.
Once you’ve decided on a geographic location, you’ll want to consider whether a cemetery-based or independent scattering garden is the best choice for you. Cemetery-based scattering gardens can be a good option for people looking to memorialize a loved one in a place where family and friends can easily visit.
Conversely, opting for an ash scattering ceremony in an independent scattering garden may better align with your values, religious beliefs, and vision for a proper farewell.
Mail-In Ash Scattering
Mail-in ash scattering is a service that allows families to send cremated remains to a designated scattering site, where the ashes are dispersed on their behalf in accordance with agreed-upon preferences, without the family needing to be physically present. For many people, this service allows them to experience all the benefits of a scattering garden without having to be there in person.
Farmstead Scattering Garden offers mail-in ash scattering services for humans and pets on our farm in Northwestern, PA. With this service, you can choose from a setting on our farm that aligns with your vision and honors your loved one. If you’re interested in learning more about us, please browse our services page or reach out today.
About Farmstead Scattering
Farmstead Scattering Garden is a fourth-generation farm located in Northwestern, PA. We believe our farm is the perfect place to celebrate and remember a well-lived life. We hope to help you create a lasting and joyful tribute to your loved ones.
