Ideas for plants on a grave sites. During the Victorian era, people paid careful attention to their flower gardens and all things horticultural.
The English created an elaborate system of floral symbolism in which every flower carried one or more meanings when presented to another person.
Flowering plants are still used today for nonverbal communication — for example, giving a bouquet at a graveside can convey love and grief, as well as hopes for the departed.
Ideas for Plants On a Grave Sites
It might be a good idea to invest in drought-resistant flowers. Although these lovely plants can flourish for more extended periods without a water source, if you do have water available to you.
We recommend planning and adding some of the following flowers into your landscape design: Vinca, blue salvia, zinnias, lantana, marigolds, petunias, and black-eyed Susans.
When it comes to perennials, sedum and salvia are two particular plants that were our absolute favorites because they were resistant to drought while still managing to maintain their vibrant color.
Pansy
Especially for a woman’s grave, the pansy (Viola spp.) conveys the Victorian virtues of tender attachment, concern, and compassion.
It also directly relates to cemetery symbolism in that it has become associated with remembrance and humility. The pansy is a flowering plant that may be grown throughout the year.
So long as there is sunlight, water, and a place to direct it towards (although it is sometimes seen in-between the cracks in sidewalks or driveways).
Common names included Tinder Pansy and Heart’s Ease during the nineteenth century. These annuals provide multicolored flowers from winter through spring or longer in mild-winter areas.
Set nursery plants out at an appropriate time of year, although never in your flower beds.
Marigold
Marigolds are known for their cheerful colors and mini sunflower petal shapes; most people see them as flowers of positivity. But in Mexico, marigolds have a different significance.
For example, at the celebration of Day of the Dead in October, mourners will place marigolds on graves during the burial procession and on gravesites afterward.
The placing of these flowers is symbolic in reminding loved ones that they are not alone because their family members remember their lost ones fondly either by talking about them or thinking about them daily.
Even though these bright yellow-orange flowers signify loss, it is a time to be happy that those loved ones are no longer suffering and have moved on to a better place.
Families dedicate time tending to marigolds because they remind them of the deceased relatives. These flowers also play an essential role during Mayan festivities, such as when families celebrate the end of a 9-month pregnancy.
Poppy
Poppies are often used in cemeteries to symbolize peace and eternal sleep for the departed who have passed away.
The poppy cuttings left over from that day’s arrangements can also be placed into a vase kept on the windowsill for display or be used for the family pet to lay upon when that particular pet is close to death.
Spring or summer – the big bloomers such as goldenrod, dahlias, and poppies make a strong statement in colors like yellow, orange, salmon, pink, cream-white, red-purple, and deep plum.
These varieties could include Flanders Field, which is expected at most floral shops near areas of Veterans Day, where memorial poppies are sold annually.
Periwinkles
Periwinkles are a widely used ornamental plant, and as a whole, they’re not usually invasive. But you’ll want to be careful with the dwarf variety because it is.
I know it may seem odd that something beautiful like that can be invasive, but the fact of the matter is if you plant it near your house or any other place where you live, then it could take over your yard pretty quickly.
And while smaller footprint periwinkles exist in many different shapes and sizes, keep your eyes open for some that might end up being more environmentally harmful than others (like the Dwarf variety).
It’s common lore here in California that Periwinkle is also called Crown Vetch for a reason.
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