One Leader reader, who regularly visits the graves of her father and brother said the cemetery was left unkempt and had become an "embarrassment".
She travelled from her home in Dundee to the cemetery on Saturday and said she was shocked to see how much it had deteriorated.
"The grass was very overgrown and there were waste bins overflowing and old flowers and paper lying everywhere.
"I took some of the rubbish home with me because I was so ashamed of the state it was in.
"The cemetery is right next to the historic church, which attracts visitors from all over the world.
"When I went, there was a couple who had travelled all the way from Gloucestershire to visit one of the graves - I dread to think what they must have thought.
"It shouldn't be allowed to get into this state."
But Aberdeenshire Council say the visit was unfortunately timed and that the cemetery has now been tidied up.
A spokesman said: "We can confirm that one of the council's landscape services teams
carried out maintenance at the site on Monday, as part of its ten day cycle of sites throughout the area.
"It would appear that this lady was unlucky to go between visits from our maintenance crews, but we will monitor the situation more closely to ensure this is not a recurring problem."
Mearns Councillor Jean Dick, who pushed for improvements in maintenance last year after similar complaints, said she would also be keeping an eye on the situation.
"I was contacted on Sunday by someone very concerned about the state it was in again. I will be following this up and hope better standards can be maintained," she said.