New Life Among Death

Atlanta, Ga.- Spring has sprung in the city of Atlanta. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and flowers bloom in every corner of every street. One of the most surprising places to view the beautiful flora that Atlanta has to offer is in Oakland Cemetery on Memorial Avenue.

As April flowers bloom, the property’s greenhouse readies itself for the spring plant sale. The spring plant sale is a way for the historic cemetery turned public park to raise funds for the upkeep of the beautiful garden ground, keeping the space beautiful and available to every person who enters the property.

Butch Teal, the garden curator and nursery manager, elaborates that the funds have helped beautify the gardens for the past 10 years, and it continues to get bigger each year. Even over the course of the pandemic, it was kept open for masked individuals to keep engagement alive for the space. Sarah Henderson, director of the gardens, elaborates that the plant sales are the largest factor keeping the gardens as well kept as they can be, and it can be inferred that the better the sales are the more projects can be undertaken.

The April plant one of two held during the year; the other one being an autumn plant sale in September. Different plants are sold at each one. The spring sale has been traditionally more popular but in recent years the autumn sale has boomed, as it’s in the middle of planting season.

It’s important to support the cemetery, for it is more than just a pretty place to be. The rich history of these grounds is palpable in the air when one walks the cobblestone roads connecting plots of graves and grassy hills. According to the official website, Oakland Cemetery was built by the city in the year 1850 to be a public burial ground. Originally the Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, it was renamed to be the Oakland locals know and love in 1872.

During the Civil War, there was a higher demand for burial ground, and so the cemetery expanded to 48 acres. Oakland has always been more than a place of death; however, it is a place of love and life. In the late 19th century, it became a popular picnic ground and location for Sunday carriage rides. This tradition has continued into the modern day as the Historic Oakland Foundation continually goes through restoration of its many historic buildings and mausoleums on its grounds, but also as its on ground greenhouse continues to expand and grow in operations.

The gardens are abuzz with activity as the result of weeks’ worth of effort is less than a day away. Everything is sectioned, priced, and cut up into individual plants as necessary. Garden technician Janna Rhoden talks about how amazing it is to work for the greenhouse, working with her hands in the dirt in a beautiful historic part of the city.

The cemetery holds significance to many people- for Janna it was her first date with her now fiancé who proposed in the same spot 2 months ago. For Peter Samuels, it’s a piece of home and beauty when he visits his family coming home from Los Angeles, and he visits any time he can to view the plant life. Daniel Drake finds it unusual and interesting that the cemetery is listed as a city park, and likes that this is what allows the historical and cultural events that take place, to take place.

Volunteer Joan Fountain works one day a week at the visitor’s center and spends more of her time giving tours, the Love Stories tours which take place around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the Hot Summers Date Night events. She says that the cemetery is for everyone, from babies in strollers to college students to older adults ‘like herself”. She says it’s a wonderful way to spend time meeting people from around the entire world, and that it’s the most wonderful place- “if anyone thinks you’re strange for liking the cemetery, they just haven’t seen it for themselves yet”. I find myself quite inclined to agree.

The Spring Plant Sale is members only and tickets for your time slot must be bought in advance for the sake of social distancing. The event takes place Friday from three p.m. to seven thirty p.m. and Saturday from nine a.m. until two p.m. The website www.oaklandcemetery.com has a limited and incomplete list of some of the many herbs, flowers, edible plants, and more being sold at the event. Limited slots remain available, so buy your tickets while you can!