Anyone with a decoration on a grave at Richmond Memory Gardens that isn’t in a vase must remove it by Friday, the city of Richmond stated July 13 on its Facebook page.

“Richmond Memory Gardens understands and embraces the desire to pay tribute and respect to those that pass on before us, through the adorning of a loved one’s grave with flowers and appropriate seasonal decorations,” the city, which owns the cemetery, stated in the social media post. “Careful considerations have been made regarding the cemetery’s rules and regulations. They have been enacted in a sincere effort to preserve and enhance the overall beauty of the cemetery and assist in ensuring the safety of all who visit.”

The post also includes a link to “newly adopted embellishment regulations” posted on the city’s website, cityofrichmondmo.org. Those regulations include the following:

• One floral arrangement per grave marker, contained “in a vase integral with the marker.”

• No “vases, toys, metal designs, ornaments, chairs, settees, glass, crockery, wood or iron cases and similar items hazardous to lawn mowers.”

• No hole digging.

• Special arrangements are allowed on city-approved special occasions, including these holidays – Christmas, Easter and Memorial Day. After each occasion, visitors have a 10-day grace period to remove them.

• Natural flowers are allowed, “as long as they are in season and have not deteriorated.”

• A 3-feet height limit for arrangements. Other regulations stated on the city’s website include the following:

• No refreshments.

• Firearms are limited to “military funerals and only in the hands of authorized teams.”

• Cemetery drives and walks must be used.

• No picking of cultivated or wild flowers.

• No harming of “any shrub, tree or plant.”

• No marring or defacing of “any monument, stone or structure in the cemetery.”