Sterling cemetery sets Memorial Day rules for gravesite decorations

Families heading to Riverside Cemetery for Memorial Day had to follow a tight set of decoration rules, with the City of Sterling allowing artificial sprays and wreaths only from May 18, 2026 through June 2, 2026 and requiring staff pickup after that deadline.

The Parks, Cemetery, Forestry Division said the holiday weekend always brings heavier traffic, more questions and more items left on gravesites, so the city spelled out exactly what could not go on burial spaces. Banned items included boxes, baskets, bricks, concrete blocks, plaques, statues, shells, rocks, stones, boulders, toys, ceramics, angels, candle rings, metal designs, ornaments, chairs, settees, unattached vases, spiked cone containers, glass items, urns, fences, wood or metal cases, edging made of metal, wood or concrete, temporary grave markers, shepherd hooks and similar decorations. Glass was treated as a special case: it was never allowed and was removed immediately if staff found it.

Riverside Cemetery is owned by the City of Sterling and operated by the Cemetery Division of the Parks, Library and Recreation Department. The cemetery sits south of Sterling at 18611 U.S. Highway 6, and city materials said staff were on hand throughout the Memorial Day weekend and holiday to help visitors. The division employs three full-time employees and seasonal positions, and city staff from other departments were also called on to help keep the cemetery ready for the holiday.

The rules also drew a sharp line between burial areas. Live flowers could be planted and cultivated at any time, but only within 18 inches in front of the foundation, and families were responsible for weeds in that space. For flush memorials, no planting and no vases were allowed around the secondary or third flush memorials. At the columbarium units, no artificial flowers or decorations of any kind were allowed at any time.

The city said the restrictions were meant to keep Memorial Day observances respectful, orderly and manageable for staff while still giving families a clear window to decorate loved ones’ graves. That mattered at Riverside Cemetery, where employees maintain the grounds, sell interment spaces, schedule funerals, excavate burial spaces, set vaults, lower caskets, level the ground and reseed or resod spaces opened in the fall or winter, typically before Memorial Day.