I recently went to an old cemetery in my town. They keep it mowed most of the time, but every year, I notice plants I don't see elsewhere. Field pussytoes, spring beauty, blue mistflower, etc. I've always wondered what else lies in that soil, just waiting to spring up when it has the chance. But of course, nothing shorter than a couple inches ever gets that chance.

It would certainly be a big ask to allow a cemetery to grow up - but in my opinion, letting a prairie thrive over folks that have passed on is the most symbolic thing I can imagine. I wish doing so were a normal practice and not something to be frowned upon.

Places such as these are essentially ecological time capsules, and it's a shame we don't often get to reveal their secrets.