A living memorial for your pet in Lake Nona
Pet ashes are strongly alkaline and salty, so they need mixing and time before anything is planted over them. Here's how to do it well in Lake Nona, and what it costs.
- Planting, garden and water urns compared
- Honest notes on local rules
- Help choosing a native species
Lake Nona, Florida
Your living memorial options around Lake Nona
Roughly 72 percent of Floridians are cremated, so an urn on a bookshelf is nothing unusual to your neighbors. If relatives live elsewhere, as they often do for people who moved to Lake Nona for work, dividing the ashes into keepsake urns or pendants lets each person hold on to a part of your pet. There is no deadline for deciding.
Lake Nona's design leans modern, with public art, glass buildings and landscaped trails around the lakes. Some families here like memorials that fit that look: a sleek ceramic urn, a minimalist engraved stone, or jewelry holding a small amount of ash. Others prefer something traditional. Choose what feels right for your home and your pet, not what looks right in a catalog.
Space is often generous around Lake Nona, so think about where you'll see the memorial every day. A tree framed in the kitchen window, beside the path to the barn or at the end of the drive becomes part of the daily routine. Planting it somewhere far from the house can mean it's only visited on anniversaries, which suits some families and not others.
Lake Nona is one of the 235 Florida communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Orlando, about 13 miles (21 km) away, which is where some providers serving Lake Nona are based.
The closest communities we cover are Meadow Woods (5 miles, a larger centre), Buenaventura Lakes (6 miles, a larger centre) and Narcoossee (6 miles, a larger centre). Providers serving those towns often travel to Lake Nona too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
72.5%[1]
The NFDA projected Florida's cremation rate at 72.5% for 2024.
$15–$80[2]
Memorials.com's pet urn cost guide puts biodegradable pet urns at $15–$80.
$119[3]
The Living Urn's pet bio-urn planting system (without a tree) costs $119.
communal $30-200; private $100-500+[4]
Embrace Pet Insurance lists US communal cremation at $30-$200, partitioned at $50-$250, private at $100-$500+ and aquamation at $80-$450.
Sources for the statistics above: The Living Urn and Memorials.com.
The local attitude to ashes and memorials
With roughly 72.5%[1] of people in Florida cremated, the local funeral culture leans firmly toward ashes rather than graves. That has a practical upside for a living memorial. Nurseries, crematories and even some parks departments are used to questions about ashes, and you'll usually get a straight answer. It's still worth asking before you plant or scatter anywhere you don't own, because common practice isn't the same as permission.
Source for the Florida number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Lake Nona, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
When to plant in Lake Nona's climate
We don't have detailed weather data for Lake Nona, so use a simple rule: plant a memorial tree in the mildest part of your year, when the ground isn't frozen, baked or waterlogged. A local nursery will know when that is. Ashes can wait safely at home, so there's no need to plant in the wrong season.
Eco memorial prices, from urn to tree
Bio urns vary more in price than you might expect. A national guide puts biodegradable urns at $70–$260[5], depending on material, size and whether a seed or tree system is included. For a lake or sea release, one water urn designed to float briefly and dissolve sells for $149[6]. In Lake Nona, the tree and the soil amendments are usually the cheapest part of the whole memorial.
Prices for Lake Nona track the wider Florida market, so use the Florida price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Rules worth knowing in Florida before you scatter
If you live under a homeowners' association, a co-op board or a tenancy agreement in Florida, its rules can matter more than any public law. Many restrict new trees, digging near shared pipes or heavy pots on balconies. A quick read of the rules, or one email to the manager, tells you whether a tree, a shrub bed or a container memorial is the right fit.
To find your county or city office in Florida, start with the official Florida local government directory.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Florida level first; our Florida rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Lake Nona or your HOA adds anything.
Planting a memorial in Lake Nona, step by step
- If you're remembering more than one animal, settle at the start on one shared planting or separate ones. Either works, but once the ashes are combined there's no undoing it.
- Label each container clearly with the name and date as it comes back, especially if the ashes return months or years apart.
- Choose a bigger planting area for several sets of ashes: a hedge, a group of shrubs or a small orchard spreads the mineral load across more soil.
- Keep a spoonful of each in separate keepsakes if anyone in the family wants to remember one animal on its own.
- Plan for the pets still living with you. A new planting that smells of bone attracts diggers, so protect it for the first few months.
- Add a marker for each name, or one stone that lists them all, so visitors know who the planting is for.
Ways to mark the spot and the date
The lakes and wetlands around this part of Orlando attract herons, egrets and sandhill cranes, and some families find comfort in a memorial that connects to nature. A tree urn planted in the yard, a butterfly garden, or a bird feeder hung in your pet's favorite spot can serve as a quiet reminder. Check your homeowners association rules before planting anything large.
Compare every option on our services page, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or compare your instinct with the poll results, look through our guides and the blog. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami, and every city in Florida.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Would you consider releasing your pet's ashes in water?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If water cremation (aquamation) were offered near you, would you choose it?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Memorial tree finder
Pick a tree for a planting urn that suits your climate, space and pet.
Aftercare options compared
Compare private, communal and water cremation with burial on cost, timing and what comes home.
Questions people ask
Is cremation common in Florida?
For people, yes: about 72.5%[1] of Florida deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Lake Nona follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Lake Nona?
Usually yes. Meadow Woods is about 5 miles away, Buenaventura Lakes is about 6 miles away and Narcoossee is about 6 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Where are the providers that serve Lake Nona actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Orlando, about 13 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Lake Nona and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can I scatter my pet's ashes in a park in Lake Nona?
Usually only with permission, and some parks don't allow it at all. Parks are managed by a city, county, state or national agency, each with its own policy, and many were written for human ashes. Contact the park office, explain it's a small amount of pet ash, and ask whether there's a preferred spot.
How long does a water-soluble urn take to dissolve?
Most are made from salt, sand, paper or gelatin and dissolve within minutes to hours once they sink. Some float briefly first, long enough for a few words: one maker's water urn floats for several minutes before dissolving[6]. Calm water gives the best result, so check the forecast for wind before you go.
Is there water cremation for pets near Lake Nona?
It depends on whether a provider nearby has invested in the equipment. Smaller places rarely have their own, but some aquamation providers in larger centres such as Orlando collect from vets across a wide area. Ask your vet whether they work with one. If not, a flame cremation followed by a bio urn still gives you a living memorial.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] The NFDA projected Florida's cremation rate at 72.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [2] Memorials.com's pet urn cost guide puts biodegradable pet urns at $15–$80. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [3] The Living Urn's pet bio-urn planting system (without a tree) costs $119. The Living Urn – Pet tree urn, 2026.
- [4] Embrace Pet Insurance lists US communal cremation at $30-$200, partitioned at $50-$250, private at $100-$500+ and aquamation at $80-$450. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [5] Funeral.com cites U.S. Funerals Online that biodegradable urns typically cost about $70–$260. Funeral.com – How Much Do Cremation Urns Cost in 2025, 2025.
- [6] The Living Urn's Eco Water Urn for water burial costs $149 and holds up to 225 cubic inches; it floats for several minutes before dissolving. The Living Urn – Eco Water Urn, 2026.
- [7] About 59 million U.S. pet-owning households may be open to eco-friendly aftercare options. Our estimate: 86.9M pet households x 68% interested in green funeral options. How we calculate.
Tell us about your pet and your garden
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.