A beautiful grave is a tribute to loved ones. Here you can find out which plants are particularly suitable for grave planting.
A beautiful grave planting is often an affair of the heart for the bereaved, with which one can do a loved one a last favour. But in order to always make a grave attractive and beautiful, there are a few things to consider - choosing the right plants is particularly important. Changing the alternating planting to suit the respective season also plays an important role. You can find out here which plants are particularly suitable for grave design all year round.
In the memory of a loved one, the bereaved often worry about an atmospheric grave planting, because they can be used to express mourning, but also affection and everlasting love. But the design of the grave is also a challenge: not only should the grave always look beautiful, it should also be easy to care for.
Grave planting: You should pay attention to this
For many of the bereaved, it is particularly important that the grave planting of their loved ones' final resting place not only looks appealing, but also stays that way for a long time without a great deal of maintenance. Choosing the right plants is particularly important. There are two types of grave planting: alternating planting based on the season and permanent planting, which consists of evergreen groundcover and frame planting. In order to guarantee a grave design that is as easy to care for as possible, but still atmospheric, the proportion of alternating planting should not exceed one third. In addition, the needs of the plants should be adapted to the location of the grave and the plants should also emphasize the gravestone.
Dwarf shrubs and trimmed evergreens are good choices for accompaniment to upright tombstones, while taller plants for prostrate stones only as backplantingshould serve. In general, only low plants are suitable for planting in front of the tombstone in order to enable the clearest possible view. For deciduous and coniferous trees, it is advisable to choose slow-growing species that do not exceed two meters. Asymmetric placement will further increase the space - placement at the top of the grave is best for large plants.
Beautiful grave plants for every season
The alternating planting is wonderful for making the grave atmospheric with flowering plants to match the season. Although it requires more care than a permanent evergreen planting, you can also achieve an easy-care and yet varied grave planting here by choosing robust, long-flowering plants.
Grave Planting for Spring
Already in autumn it is worth preparing the grave planting for spring: Bulb flowers such as hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) and crocuses (Crocus ) should be planted out at this time, so that they reliably appear as the first flowering plants in spring. Also other colorful spring flowers such as primroses (Primula vulgaris), horned violets (Viola cornuta) or pansies (Viola wittrockiana ) ensure an atmospheric grave design in spring. Especially in combination with evergreen ground covers, the plants provide an attractive picture in spring. You can find out here which plants are also suitable for grave design in spring.
Grave Planting for Summer
Planting graves in summer is a special challenge for many of the bereaved: In the hot summer sun, many plants quickly lose their heads if they are not watered regularly. But here, too, the grave can be made easy to care for by choosing the right plants, so that it looks attractive for a long time even without daily watering. For example, the stonecrop (Sedum), lavender (Lavandula latifolia) or the Flaming Katy have a low water requirement paired with a long flowering period and the ability to self-cleaning (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) on. The grave planting for the summer should be completed by the end of June at the latest to give the plants enough time for sufficient root growth. What else you should know about grave planting in summer and what other plants are suitable for itfind out here.
Grave Planting for Fall
When the days start getting shorter again, it's time to prepare the graves of your loved ones for autumn. Atmospheric autumn flowers such as the aster (Aster), the autumn gentian (Gentiana scabra) or the cyclamen ( Cyclamen persicum). But variegated ground covers such as the purple bells (Heuchera cultivars) or the barbed wire plant (Calocephalus brownii) are also welcome. When planting the grave, care should be taken to ensure that the plants are placed closer together to avoid unsightly bare spots and gaps - in contrast to spring and summer, they usually hardly grow any more. On the other hand, grave care in autumn - in contrast to summer - is significantly less complex, only the leaves should be removed regularly. You can find more care tips and plants for the grave design in autumn here.
Grave Planting for Winter
An attractive grave design in winter is considered particularly challenging by many of the bereaved, but can still be atmospheric with the right choice of plants. In addition to the evergreen permanent planting, particularly decorative ground covers such as the checkerberry (Gaultheria procumbens) or the carpet dwarf medlar (Cotoneaster dammeri) are often used. But flowering plants can also impress in winter: common heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) bloom even in snow and ice. Already in autumn you should start with the first care measures for the winter. Withered and diseased plants and autumn leaves must be removed and plants that are not hardy must be protected. Here you can find out which plants are suitable for the winter and how best to prepare the grave for the winter.
Special Grave Planting for All Saints Day
On All Saints' Day, which always takes place on November 1st, it is important to many of the bereaved that the final resting place of their deceased is particularly attractive and atmospheric. The festival, on which the graves are blessed in many communities, has a high emotional value for many because of itespecially the deceased are remembered. The graves are particularly popular with beautiful wreaths of flowers, personally designed planters or new commemorative candles. But the alternating planting is also being replanted by many for the holiday. Autumn flowers such as the horned violet (Viola cornuta) or the autumn margarite (Argyranthemum frutescens) are particularly popular here. However, plants with a strong symbolic meaning such as the chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum) are also particularly suitable for grave design on All Saints' Day. Here you can find out what the holiday is all about and which other grave plants are suitable for All Saints' Day.
Evergreen and easy-care grave plants
Easy-care and evergreen plants play an important role in grave design, as they guarantee an attractive appearance for a long time without much care. Ground covers are therefore particularly popular in grave planting: Not only do they look beautiful for a long time and are perfect as structural plants between the flowering alternating planting - ground covers also suppress annoying weeds and protect the soil. In addition to well-known evergreen plants such as the feather cushion (Cotula squalida) or the fat man (Pachysandra terminalis), some ground cover plants such as the cat's foot ( Antennaria dioica) additionally with their great flower decoration. Rhododendrons (Rhododendron) and stonecrops (Sedum) are also suitable as easy-care and year-round grave plants.
In this article you can find out which plants still meet the criteria for an easy-care grave design and are evergreen.