Efficient Landscape Design for People and Wildlife, a CLM-North Texas Master Naturalist Meeting at Western Heights Cemetery
August 27, 2:00 PM
Topic: Efficient Landscape Design for People and Wildlife
Location: Rhino Coffee House, 1607 Fort Worth Ave.
Cemetery Walk: Western Heights Cemetery
led by Van Johnson
Volunteer Coordinator
Western Heights Cemetery
GROUNDS MAINTENANCE MANUAL 8/25/25
Van Johnson, Sexton
CONTENTS
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*Stakeholders
*Site Survey
*Guiding Principles
*Safety Procedures
*Mowing Procedures
*Perennial Calendar
Appendix: Volunteer Liability Release
STAKEHOLDERS
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Western Heights Cemetery is managed, and decisions are made, keeping in mind the following stakeholders:
Permanent residents, known and unknown
Descendants and other family members
Constellation of Living Memorials
Summerlee Foundation
Texas Historical Foundation
Sponsors
Donors
Volunteers
Visitors
Researchers
Adjacent neighbors
Surrounding neighborhood
Greater neighborhoods of West Dallas and Oak Cliff
Employees & contractors
Governmental & regulatory authorities
Future stewards
Future researchers
Trees, wildlife, soil, groundwater
SITE SURVEY
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Western Heights Cemetery site survey considerations before designing / modifying landscape plans:
* Legal parameters / constraints / deed restrictions
* Water availability
* Soil type -- clay or sandy loam, and depth
* Topography and drainage -- are there slopes that will be difficult to water? Are there low points where water stands?
* Sun / shade proportion
* Existing desirable vegetation to be preserved
* Existing invasive or nuisance species to be eradicated
* Existing other vegetation (turf grass and mowing issues)
* Marked graves
* Unmarked graves
* Infrastructure - roads, paths, fences, signage, boulders, overhead and buried power lines, lighting, cameras, pipes, faucets.
* VOLUNTEER HOURS AVAILABLE PER MONTH!! Do not plant more than can be maintained. Even native plants will need watering in the beginning and also somewhat during droughts.
TWELVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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INTRODUCTION
Good design starts with Context and one of the key components of context is Purpose. Western Heights Cemetery is first and foremost a burial ground. Any other uses of it are secondary and must be compatible with the primary purpose. Access to all graves must be maintained and plantings cannot impede access. Major pathways should go around graves, not across them. (Minor pathways for access to a small group of graves might need to cross graves but we strive to make that the exception.)
1. MAINTAIN PERIMETER FENCE
Keep clear for visibility and security to reduce vandalism. Remove existing brush and trees in fence. Do not plant desirable plants along fence because will make it harder to maintain. (The exception would be the decorative fence along Fort Worth Avenue since that has a concrete footing underneath which greatly simplifies vegetation maintenance. Nevertheless, only low plants should be planted there to maintain open sightlines.)
2. OPEN SIGHTLINES
Keep most plantings (other than trees) to plants under 3 ft tall to help maintain open sightlines and reduce "camping" and vandalism. For the same reason, as well as for pedestrian safety, also limb up low hanging tree branches
3. PRESERVE MARKER PLANTS
Do not remove ANY legacy marker plants. Irises and lantana especially have historically been planted to mark graves in Texas. Even non-native lantanas should be left. There are several crape myrtles which may also indicate locations of graves. If the headstone is missing, plantings may be the only indication of a grave site.
4. MAINTAIN COMPLETE RECORDS
When older trees need to be cut down, permanently document the exact location because that may be a grave marker. A large pine tree is dying and may need to be removed. 5 years from now we wouldn't want to find documentation that someone was buried and a pine tree was planted there to mark the location but we no longer remember where the pine tree was. (There are several Chinaberries that need to be removed -- they are very fast growing trees and probably have not been there that long and probably were not used to mark graves.)
5. CONTROL INVASIVES
The other invasives should be removed including Chinaberries, privet, and at least 7 major locations of poison ivy, a native. (Despite the strange cultural prejudice prevalent in Dallas against hackberry trees, as the number one bird tree and the number one butterfly tree they are VERY desirable and should not be removed solely on the basis of their species. Unhealthy / unsafe individuals of any species can be removed of course.)
6. NATIVES PREFERRED
Mostly natives should be added. Constellation of Living Memorials guidelines specify at least 75% of new plantings should be native plants. The rest can be non-invasive, well-adapted plants of high pollinator value. The CLM guideline of 75% native plants is a minimum -- a higher percentage of natives is allowed of course. If high habitat value non-native plants are added, let's try to do that outside of the grant and also attempt to not expend any funds if possible -- try to get them donated from local gardeners.
7. MITIGATE TRAFFIC DANGER
Keep high habitat-value plants away from Fort Worth Avenue. We do not want to incentivize butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife to cross busy streets. Many butterflies in Texas die on car radiator grilles especially during the fall migration. The problem is definitely worse in South Texas but let's try to not contribute to this.
8. PROGRESSION OF BLOOM
Plantings should be planned to provide for progression of bloom for both season-long nectar availability as well as aesthetic value to human visitors.
9. SIMPLICITY
Large perennial beds consisting each of one species have greater visual impact and are much easier to maintain, even by volunteers without much gardening experience. Beds of mixed annual wildflower seeds are still allowed and desirable, however. At some point in the year these are usually mowed down to not only help spread and mix seeds but also to control weeds.
10. SUSTAINABILITY
* Materials generated on-site (vegetative growth including tree limbs) should be retained on site (except poison ivy).
* Low-water design- Native and adapted species
- Proper plant in proper place
- Group plants by water needs
- Use rain barrels
* To the extent possible, gasoline powered equipment should be avoided. Exceptions for now are chainsaws. In the past gasoline powered mowers have been used but as areas are converted to habitat and pedestrian pathways are created, battery-operated string trimmers should usually suffice. No leaf blowers of any kind should be ever be used.
11. DESIGN FOR MAINTENANCE
As a volunteer-based organization, plantings should be designed with ease of long term maintenance in mind:
* Plants most likely to need supplemental irrigation during drought should be planted closest to the water source.
* Plants with aggressively colonizing rhizomes should be contained via existing concrete barriers (family plot borders).
* Limit plants needing frequent pruning, deadheading, or other human interventions
12. NO NEW CANOPY TREES
Being on a very wind prone hill, historically we have had a lot of broken branches and in many cases those have broken gravestones. No healthy canopy trees will be removed except for invasive species such as chinaberries. However all future planting of trees will be understory trees such as redbuds, Mexican plum, etc that will not reach such a size that they will damage headstones or metal family plot borders if and when they fall. Being understory trees they will also be more easily managed and will be able to be pruned by volunteers versus hiring arborists to climb tall trees with ropes and harnesses.
SAFETY PROCEDURES
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Everyone:
* Risks include weather exposure, uneven ground, tripping hazards, stinging insects, toxic plants, wild animals, power lawn equipment, digging, lifting / loading / unloading, and construction and repair activities.
* Report any hazards or safety concerns.
* Don't attempt anything you don't feel you can safely do.
* Stay at least 50 feet away from weedeaters and at least 30 feet away from mowers.
* Immediately leave the cemetery if you observe lighting or thunder. Do not wait to be told to leave. Return to car. If you walked, cycled, or rode the bus, shelter in White Rhino Coffee.
* Secure ladders before climbing. At least one spotter must be present to help steady ladder and watch for safety issues.
Power equipment operators:
* Safety glasses MUST be worn when operating weedeater.
* Do not operate weedeater within 50 ft of another person: volunteer, visitor, etc.
If a visitor comes within 50 ft of where you are cutting, stop and move to another area until they are gone. If a volunteer comes within 50 ft of where you are cutting, ask them to work somewhere else until you are finished in that area.
* Do not operate mower within 30 ft of another person: volunteer, visitor, etc.
If a visitor comes within 30 ft of where you are cutting, stop and move to another area until they are gone. If a volunteer comes within 30 ft of where you are cutting, ask them to work somewhere else until you are finished in that area.
* Safety glasses and hearing protection MUST be used with chain saw. At least one spotter must be present to help watch for safety issues.
MOWING PROCEDURES
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* Safety glasses MUST be worn when operating weedeater.
* Do not operate weedeater within 50 ft of another person: volunteer, visitor, etc. >> If a visitor comes within 50 ft of where you are cutting, stop and move to another area until they are gone. If a volunteer comes within 50 ft of where you are cutting, ask them to work somewhere else until you are finished in that area.
* Do not operate mower within 30 ft of another person: volunteer, visitor, etc.
If a visitor comes within 30 ft of where you are cutting, stop and move to another area until they are gone. If a volunteer comes within 30 ft of where you are cutting, ask them to work somewhere else until you are finished in that area.
MOWING HEIGHTS
* Pathways: lowest setting
* Graves: 2 inches
* Everything else: highest setting (4 inches)
* Unmowed areas
DON'TS
* Don't cut any area inside pink tape.
* Don't cut any plants inside brick squares.
* Don't cut any plants with stakes.
* Don't cut plants that have been mulched.
* Don't cut sedges (It will take practice to learn to recognize these grass look alikes -- they are not segmented like grasses. Think Bermuda or St Augustine which are heavily segmented typical grasss.)
* Don't cut any areas that have haven't been previously cut before unless specifically instructed.
NORMAL PRIORITY RANK
1 Major pathways (mulched)
2 Sidewalk and entrance area
3 Secondary pathways (grass) to graves
4 Historical marker area
5 Perimeter fences
6 Section guidepost markers: 2 ft radius
7 Edge driveway bricks
8 Edge concrete family plot boundaries
9 Edge headstones
However we also need to rotate maintenance because we don't have the time and resources to do it all every time. So if an area was cut last time and there are other areas that have taller vegetation and look worse they should be cut first even if they have a lower priority ranking.
GOALS
* We have promised the families that there will be at least one path to every grave.
* Try to keep at least 4 ft cut in front of every headstone.
* If there is a footstone, the cut area should connect the headstone to the footstone.
* Cut one weedeater width behind and to each side of every headstone.
* Consider every clump of irises as a grave even if it doesn't have a marker, because it almost certainly is.
* Cut about 1 foot clearance all the way around every freestanding clump of irises so the volunteers can weed them without standing in tall vegetation.
* Cut about 1 foot clearance all the way around every freestanding lantana so the volunteers can weed them without standing in tall vegetation.
* Maintain a mowed path to every birdfeeder so the children who refill them do not have to walk through tall vegetation.
REPORT
* Hazards
* Fire ants
* New areas of poison ivy
* Concerns
PERENNIAL CALENDAR
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*Spring
Seeding
Mowing
Woodchip deliveries
Main removal targets: hedge parsley, plantain, fire ants
*Summer
Watering and mowing
Main removal targets: plantain, privet, poison ivy, Johnson grass, Smilax
*Autumn
Planting
Transplanting
Divide irises
Seeding (bluebonnets Sept, poppies Nov)
Shredded leaf deliveries
*Winter
Updating maps
Inspections, painting, and repairs
Tree pruning (no oak pruning after December)
Headstone cleaning with D2
Hidden grave marker exploration
Re-grading around low stones and coping
Woodchip deliveries
Links relating to our discussion:
Famous local botanist
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien_Reverchon
How Reunion Tower got its name
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_R%C3%A9union_(Dallas)
Best plant search engine
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx
Western Heights Cemetery History
Information and discussions about general cemetery history as well as individual graves. Descendants, researchers, genealogists, and history buffs welcome.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1273809584019041/?ref=share_group_link
Western Heights Cemetery Nature
Thanks to the Constellation of Living Memorials, a grant has been secured to create a pollinator gardens and bird habitat.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3036041566529189/?ref=share_group_link
Western Heights Cemetery Arts
Celebrating The Arts at Western Heights Cemetery -- stone carving, photography, the poetry of epitaphs, readings, storytelling, theatre, and music.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/321270757427133/?ref=share_group_link
Western Heights Cemetery Volunteers
A place to rapidly connect with volunteers when work days are cancelled due to weather, or to let them know which tools to bring that week, and to answer new volunteers questions about parking etc
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1588926711856111/?ref=share_group_link