Some losses are too big for words. The small Bios Urn is a quiet way to keep a baby or little one near, and to let something living grow in their memory.
How to use your Bios Urn
- Each box holds the urn, an expansion disc (made of coco peat, paper and vermiculite) and planting instructions printed on the box. Seeds aren’t included, so choose your own seed or seedling.
- Fill the lower capsule with your little one’s ashes. If the ashes are already in another urn, you can move them across yourself, or ask a funeral home or crematorium to do this for you.
- Close the lower capsule with the upper capsule. In the upper capsule, mix the expansion disc with a little soil and your chosen seed or seedling.
- Bios keeps the ashes in the lower capsule, separate from the seed, because ashes are very alkaline and can harm young growth, especially in the first 3 months.
- Choose a pot large enough for their urn, the plant’s roots and room for the plant to keep growing, with plenty of space around and below their urn. Add small stones or broken terracotta at the bottom for drainage, then some good soil-based compost.
- Set their urn in the pot about 3–5 cm below the soil surface, and fill in around the sides with compost so none of the urn is showing.
- In cold weather, keep the pot somewhere frost-free, as frost can damage seeds and seedlings.
- Water so the seed or seedling has the moisture it needs. The expansion disc swells when watered and helps hold moisture, but too much water is the most common mistake, so go gently.
- After that, care for the plant as you would any other: light, water and warmth to suit that plant. A seedling needs less looking after than a seed.
Suggestions
These are my own suggestions from Wild & Dark, not part of the Bios instructions.
- Plant their urn in a pot with a gentle, long-lived houseplant, and keep them close somewhere you’ll see their plant every day.
- A potted plant means your little one can move house with you. A burial in the garden stays behind when a house changes hands.
- If you’d like their plant outside, a large pot on a patio means you can still bring them with you if you move.
- Over the years, a cutting or a little offshoot can be shared with family.
- My tip: already have a plant that means something to you? Their urn can go beneath an established plant in a pot large enough for their urn, the plant’s roots and room for further growth. Ease the plant out gently and settle their urn underneath without cutting or crushing the roots, then replant.
Why families choose the Bios Urn
- Keep them near. Their ashes stay with you, at home.
- A memorial you make yourself. No plot needed, and none of the cost of a traditional burial.
- Something that can be passed down. The plant can be handed on through the family, so their memory keeps growing.
Choosing a plant
Bios says the urn takes any kind of seed or seedling, and suggests a seedling rather than a seed if you’d like less to worry about, especially in winter.
Long-lived houseplants that are known for being forgiving, and that live happily in a pot, include:
- Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra): has been passed down through families for over a century, and can be divided to share.
- Christmas cactus: can live over 100 years and grows easily from cuttings.
- Spider plant: its little plantlets are easy to share.
A dwarf plant, shrub or flower can stay in a pot for good. A normal tree will stay stunted in a pot, so a dwarf variety is the better choice. If there are young children in the home, check that a plant is safe for everyone before you choose one.
Every plant needs its own care and growing conditions vary, so choose one that suits the space you have.
A gentle choice for the planet
The urn is made from 100% biodegradable materials and returns to the earth over time. Any plant brings a little life into a room.
Pre-order
Price on request. Lead time on request.
Details
- Size: Small, 16 x 16 x 16 cm, holds 1.25 L
- Sized for a baby or little one
- Two capsules: ashes and seed/seedling
- Includes an expansion disc (coco peat, paper and vermiculite) and planting instructions printed on the box. Seed or seedling not included
- 100% biodegradable materials
- For planting in a pot, indoors or on a patio
- Price on request. Lead time on request.
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