Vases and Vase Blocks · Bonney Watson

SECTION 1

What a Vase and Vase Block Are

A permanent place for flowers that the mowers can pass over

A cemetery vase isn't a vase you set on the grass. It sits in a hole cut into a granite block that's set level with the lawn. When it's holding flowers, it stands upright. When it isn't, it turns upside down and rests flush in the block, so the mowers pass right over it and nothing gets broken.

Every option in this guide uses the same 12 by 12 by 4 inch granite block, polished on top with sawn sides, with the hole for the vase already drilled. Our own crew sets the block and the vase.

If your loved one has a bronze marker, it can carry its own vase core, the fitting a vase screws into, and the vase can go in the marker instead. The Bronze Markers guide covers that. This guide is about a vase on its own block.

SECTION 2

The Four Vases

These are the only vases the cemetery offers, and why that's the case is in Section 6

Gray Zinc

5" core · vase only $315

Cast zinc with a gray finish. It's the simplest vase we offer and the one we keep in stock here. Zinc holds up well, but it's softer than bronze and won't last as many lifetimes.

Bronze veterans vase with a star ring set in a granite block

Bronze, Grecian or Veterans

6" core · vase only $1,340

Cast bronze by Matthews. The Veterans version carries a cross on the vase and a ring of stars around its base. The Grecian version has a plain ring.

Hammered bronze Doric vase with a hammered ring set in a granite block

Bronze Doric, Hammered or Grecian ring

6" core · vase only $1,405

The Doric vase has a hand-hammered texture, set in either a matching hammered ring or a plain Grecian ring.

Hammered bronze Doric vase with a floral ring set in a red granite block

Bronze Doric, Floral Innocence ring

6" core · vase only $1,445

The hammered Doric vase in the Floral Innocence ring, a ring of cast flowers around the base. It's the top of our bronze range.

Prices are for the vase alone. The block, its installation and sales tax are added in Section 4.

SECTION 3

The Granite Vase Block

The same block in every color; the color sets the price

The block is made by Pacific Coast Memorials, the same Everett company that makes our granite markers, so most families simply match it to the granite they chose for the marker and the color is settled along with the marker. Granite comes in many colors and grain types, and some even sparkle in the sun. It's priced in color groups, and colors that carry added import tariffs are priced separately.

12×12×4 vase block, by color group	Block
Group 1, non-tariffed Cloud White, Misty Pink, PC Violet	$525
Group 1, tariffed Cascade Gray, Classic Gray	$630
Group 2 Absolute Black, Barrell Gray, Blue Pearl and others	$800
Group 3 Balmoral Red, Barre Gray, Cherrywood and others	$965
Group 4, non-tariffed American Bouquet, Gorman Green and others	$1,210
Group 4, tariffed Crystal White, Emerald Pearl	$1,450

Setting the block and vase is $175, the same for every color. The Granite Marker Sizes and Colors guide shows the colors in each group.

SECTION 4

What It Adds Up To

Vase, 12×12 block and installation, with sales tax

Vase	Least costly block	Most costly block
Gray Zinc	$1,120.56	$2,141.76
Bronze, Grecian or Veterans	$2,252.16	$3,273.36
Bronze Doric, Hammered or Grecian ring	$2,323.92	$3,345.12
Bronze Doric, Floral Innocence ring	$2,368.08	$3,389.28

The left column uses a Group 1 non-tariffed block and the right column a Group 4 tariffed block, so every other color falls between the two. Sales tax of 10.4% applies to the vase, the block and the installation. I'll put the exact figure for your colors in writing before anything is ordered.

SECTION 5

Why They Cost What They Do

It's the most common question families ask about vases, and it deserves a straight answer

Bronze is mostly copper. The bronze vases are solid castings by Matthews, and bronze is a copper alloy. Copper prices are at record highs, and the cost of every bronze casting follows them. That's the biggest single reason a bronze vase costs what it does today.

Bronze lasts for generations. Pacific Coast Memorials describes bronze as an extremely durable copper-based alloy, and it doesn't rust. Zinc costs far less and outlasts galvanized metal, but by their own description its life is centuries shorter than bronze. Families who choose bronze buy it once.

The block is memorial-grade granite. Pacific Coast Memorials, a fifth-generation family company in Everett, cuts each block, polishes the top and drills it for the vase. As they put it, the price of granite depends on its size and the type of granite. Every vase block here is the same size, so the color is what moves the price, and some colors carry added import tariffs.

It's backed by a warranty. Pacific Coast Memorials will replace or refurbish, at no cost to you, any stone part that cracks or breaks down from climate or season. Normal weathering stains aren't covered.

It's set to stay. The price includes our crew setting the block level so it stays put and the mowers can pass over it for as long as the cemetery stands.

If the bronze price is the hesitation

The gray zinc vase on a Group 1 block comes to $1,120.56 with tax, about half the cost of bronze. It's a real, permanent vase that meets every cemetery rule. Plenty of families start there.

SECTION 6

The Cemetery's Flower Rules

Why a permanent vase matters, from the Washington Memorial Park rules and regulations

Fresh cut flowers are welcome at any time, in a regulation vase. Without a vase, there's no regulation place for them, and flowers left on the grass are removed by our grounds crew when they become unsightly.

Non-permanent vases aren't allowed. That includes plastic and glass vases. Permanent vases are purchased through the office and installed by the park. Glass is the bigger concern: it can shatter under a mower and injure someone.

Artificial flowers are allowed only during the non-mowing season. Any placed during mowing season are removed and disposed of.

Holiday decorations come down 7 to 14 days after each holiday.

Questions about a vase

Call or email me with any questions, and I'll put the exact figure for your marker's granite in writing.

Martice Morrison · Family Service and Advanced Planning Director · (206) 445-9794 · mmorrison@bonneywatson.com