Grave gardening
Grave gardening
At The Woodlands, a mid-19th century cemetery that is a 54-acre oasis in Philadelphia, graves were designed to be planters. Today, volunteers cultivate a sense of history by tending to Victorian Era-style flowers at tombs erected “in the French style.” Tony Dokoupil reports.
Read the full article on CBS US
Truth Analysis
Analysis Summary:
The CBS article is mostly accurate, focusing on the historical practice of grave gardening and a specific example at The Woodlands cemetery in Philadelphia. The claims about the cemetery's history and the volunteer program are supported by external sources. The article presents a positive view of the practice, but the bias is minimal.
Detailed Analysis:
- Claim: At The Woodlands, a mid-19th century cemetery that is a 54-acre oasis in Philadelphia, graves were designed to be planters.
- Verification Source #1: Supports the existence of The Woodlands and the volunteer gardening program.
- *Fail to cover:* the exact acreage or design intent of the graves.
- *Internal Knowledge:* The Woodlands Cemetery was founded in 1840, placing it firmly in the mid-19th century.
- Claim: Today, volunteers cultivate a sense of history by tending to Victorian Era-style flowers at tombs erected "in the French style."
- Verification Source #1: Supports the existence of a volunteer gardening group run by The Woodlands and that they plant with Victorian-era flowers.
- Verification Source #2: Supports the prevalence of cradle graves in the Victorian era.
- *Fail to cover:* the "French style" of the tombs.
Supporting Evidence/Contradictions:
- Verification Source #1: "The Grave Gardener program is a volunteer gardening group run by The Woodlands. Individual gardeners adopt a cradle grave, which they plant with Victorian-era…" This supports the claim about the volunteer program and the type of flowers planted.
- Verification Source #2: "Cradle graves, also called bedstead graves, were abundant in the Victorian era, offering a place for loved ones of the deceased to keep their memory alive." This supports the historical context of grave gardening.
- The article does not delve into potential negative aspects of grave gardening, such as soil contamination (Verification Source #5), but this is not necessarily a contradiction, but rather an omission.