Photo provided.

– Contributed by Andrea Gibson

Cemeteries are interesting places to visit. They serve the spiritual needs of the living as well as keep alive memories of the dead.
Moreover, a stroll through the monuments seems to bring alive the history and culture of those people and their community.
Cemeteries are often beautiful natural settings. Cantonillinois.org describes Greenwood Cemetery in downstate Canton as a place “encompassing rolling hills, a gentle valley, fields, and natural woodland.”
Cemeteries are also a place to see outstanding trees.

There are many reasons why cemeteries offer superior trees. Cemetery trees are not disrupted by power lines, sidewalks, driveways, or other urban features that impact a tree’s growth. Trees are often left alone in a cemetery and allowed to grow to their natural height and spread. For this reason, cemetery trees are often found on big tree registers and some cemeteries also serve as an arboretum.
A great example is Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nineteen state champion trees are found there, including an 82 foot tall yellow buckeye. This tree is 64 feet wide with a circumference of 168 inches. Spring Grove Cemetery is so spectacular that it was a required student field trip for a woody ornamentals class at University of Illinois.
Similarly, many trees in Washington DC’s Arlington National Cemetery have special meaning. The famous Arlington post oak hangs over John F. Kennedy’s “eternal flame.” Eight thousand trees are found across Arlington’s 652 acres. The oldest is the 300 year old white “Taft oak” by President Taft’s grave.
Nine big trees in Illinois are found in cemeteries. These include a flowering dogwood in Texico, a slippery elm in Lemont, and an Eastern white pine in Princeton. The pine is 97 feet tall and 49.3 feet wide. Go to http://web.extension.illinois.edu/forestry/il_big_tree.html for a complete listing of registered big trees in Illinois.
Sometimes trees are simply placed in cemeteries for their special meaning.
Yew and cedar suggest eternal life. Cherry represent the Japanese idea of “the perfect death.” Oaks symbolize power or victory.
Pines mean immortality, while poplars convey sorrowful memories. Roses signify completion and willows serve as a perpetual mourner.
Cemetery trees are special. “Forests may be gorgeous but there is nothing more alive than a tree that learns how to grow in a cemetery”