Weeds at Holy Hope Cemetery

From Patrick Lynch, Executive Director, Catholic Cemeteries

Holy Hope Cemetery recently has heard the concerns of various persons with loved ones interred there, related to the unsightly grounds, especially the presence of large weeds. We apologize for any failure to inform our patrons of the situation clearly. 

In the last year, Holy Hope Cemetery has extended the decorative fencing around the entire perimeter of the cemetery for security, restored the large stained-glass memorial window at the entrance, performed extensive repairs and restoration on our beautiful mausoleum, and contracted for a new irrigation/sprinkler system for the lawns to be fully installed by May of this year.  

We are now focused on a serious upgrade to the grounds, most especially the lawns. In recent years the lawns have been mowed regularly and watered at intervals. However, it has been many years since weed killers or fertilizers were applied. To upgrade our lawn care we have hired a landscape company to spray an herbicide for the entire grounds which began on March 20th. A second, pre-emergent herbicide will then be applied in June (before the Monsoon Season). The current work will be completed by the end of this month. Already, certain sections of the cemetery are being mowed after the weed killer has been applied. It will take additional weeks to trim and remove the dead weeds. The Cemetery has purchased new equipment so that our own grounds team will care for the lawns themselves instead of out-sourcing much of this important work.  

Again, we apologize for the poor appearance of our lawns but hope that our patrons will recognize that this temporary situation is part of a substantial landscaping improvement plan.