Beautiful Garden Urns For Ashes

For many families, the garden is the right place to rest a loved one. It is where they spent summer mornings, tended the borders, or simply sat in the sun with a cup of tea. A garden urn lets you keep them in that spot, in a piece made to live outdoors and weather the seasons. This guide explains what makes an urn safe to keep outside, the designs we offer, and how to choose and care for one.

Quick answer: A garden urn for ashes is an urn built to stay outdoors all year. The most weather-resistant choices are stainless steel and high-fired ceramic. Steel is rustproof and made for the open air, while ceramic fired above 1,000°C resists frost, rain and sunlight. You can stand a garden urn on a patio or plinth, settle it into planting, or keep a smaller keepsake near the door. Every urn featured here is one we currently make and ship.

What is a garden urn for ashes?

A garden urn is a cremation urn meant for outdoor display rather than a mantelpiece. It holds a loved one's ashes securely while standing up to the weather, so the memorial becomes part of the garden itself. Some families choose a full-size urn as a centerpiece. Others keep a smaller keepsake among the planting and share the ashes with relatives. You can see the whole range in our outdoor urns for ashes collection.

What makes an urn safe to keep outside?

The material is what counts. Our outdoor urns are made from two weather-resistant materials:

• Stainless steel. Naturally rustproof and built for the open air. Steel garden urns keep their finish through rain, frost and sun with almost no care.
• High-fired ceramic. Fired above 1,000°C, the clay hardens into a sealed surface that resists frost, rain and fading. Most of our ceramic designs are suitable for the garden.

Wood and biodegradable urns are not made for permanent outdoor display, although biodegradable urns are designed for garden burial, which is a different choice covered further down.

Our garden urns for ashes

Here are the designs families most often choose for the garden. Each links to its page, where you can see the colors and sizes available.

Stainless Steel Memorial Garden Urn Ornament

Our Stainless Steel Memorial Garden Urn Ornament is made for exactly this purpose. The brushed steel is rustproof and weatherproof, so it can stay outdoors with no special care, and the soft teardrop shape sits as comfortably among flowers as it does on a patio. It comes in black, white, brown and green, and in a smaller size for pets, so you can match it to the garden you already have.

The Passage Cremation Urn

The Passage Cremation Urn is our most-loved design, and it suits the garden beautifully. The gentle inward spiral represents the passage of time, and the open center holds a tealight to light in moments of remembrance. It is high-fired ceramic, so it stays outside through the year, and it comes in colors including oily green, matte grey and cream.

The Infinity Cremation Urn

The Infinity Cremation Urn carries a flowing infinity symbol across its face, a quiet reminder that the memories you shared have no end. A small porch at the front holds a tealight. Like the Passage, it is high-fired ceramic and at home on a patio or nestled into a border.

The Lotus Cremation Urn

If you would prefer metal, the Lotus Cremation Urn is sculpted into the open petals of a lotus flower, a long-standing symbol of peace and renewal. As a metal urn it is naturally suited to the outdoors and makes a striking centerpiece.

Crystalline-glazed urns

For something with real presence, our crystalline-glazed pieces such as the Jadeite and Emerald urns carry one-of-a-kind crystal patterns formed in the kiln, so no two are ever alike. Both are high-fired ceramic and suitable for the garden.

The Teardrop Candle Sphere Urn

The Teardrop Candle Sphere Urn pairs a rounded ceramic body with carved teardrop detailing and a space on top for a candle, so a small light can glow in the garden on an evening of remembrance.

Keepsake garden urns

If you would rather share the ashes, or keep a smaller memorial near the door, our keepsake urns are made from the same weather-resistant materials as their full-size versions. The Teardrop Candle Sphere Keepsake matches its larger counterpart, and the Butterfly Keepsake Urn is a gentle choice in silver, gold or bronze. A keepsake lets several family members each keep a part of a loved one, in their own garden or home. Browse them all in our small urns for ashes collection.

Garden urns for pets

The same applies to a pet who loved the outdoors. The Stainless Steel Memorial Garden Urn Ornament comes in a pet size, weatherproof and ready for the garden, and for cats our ceramic Sitting Cat Urn is a fitting tribute. You can see the wider range in our pet urns collection.

Where to place a garden urn

There is no single right spot. Families often choose:

• A favorite corner where the person liked to sit
• A patio, plinth or low wall, raising the urn to eye level
• Among established planting, or beside a memorial rose or tree
• Near the house, for a keepsake you want to see every day

For more ideas, see our guide on where to place a cremation urn.

Caring for a garden urn outdoors

Steel and high-fired ceramic urns need very little care, but a few simple steps help them last:

• Seal the lid. For ceramic urns we recommend a small amount of adhesive on the lip of the lid. We stock glue suited to our urns. Steel urns with a threaded base usually need nothing.
• Choose a stable base. A flat plinth or paving slab keeps the urn level and steady.
• In hard frost, standing water can freeze, so set the urn where it drains freely, or bring a smaller keepsake indoors over deep winter.

Can you bury a garden urn instead?

Yes. If you would prefer the ashes to return to the earth rather than sit on display, a biodegradable urn is made for exactly that, breaking down naturally in the soil over months. That is a separate option from a display urn. Our biodegradable urns collection covers it, and you can read more in our guide on what to do with ashes after cremation.

Frequently asked questions

Can you keep a cremation urn outside?

Yes, as long as it is made from a weather-resistant material. Stainless steel and high-fired ceramic urns are made to stay outdoors all year. Wood and biodegradable display urns are not suitable for permanent outdoor placement.

Are ceramic urns weatherproof?

High-fired ceramic urns are. Firing above 1,000°C seals the clay so it resists frost, rain and sun. The ceramic urns in our outdoor range are all fired this way and suitable for the garden.

Can I put my dog's or cat's ashes in the garden?

Yes. Our stainless steel garden ornament comes in a pet size, and our ceramic pet urns such as the Sitting Cat Urn are weather-resistant, so they can be displayed outdoors just like our adult urns.

Do I need to seal a garden urn?

For ceramic urns we recommend it. A small amount of suitable adhesive on the lid keeps the ashes secure and keeps moisture out. Steel urns with a threaded base usually need no glue.

Will a garden urn fade in the sun?

Stainless steel holds its finish outdoors, and high-fired ceramic glazes are UV-stable and keep their color well. Setting the urn out of the very harshest afternoon sun helps any finish last even longer.