Suitable Graveside Plants for Minimal Maintenance

A graveside monument is a permanent record of a person's life, giving friends and family a place to go and remember them. It can take regular work to maintain the good condition of a grave, with the stone over time succumbing to moss and discolouring if it's not properly cared for. And, because it's traditional to leave flowers at a grave as a sign of respect for the deceased, they need to be regularly replaced to keep them fresh.

An alternative to leaving cut flowers is to select a plant – or several – that can grow in the ground, requiring far less attention. It's a particularly useful option where there are people buried far from family who can care for the monument. Here are some good planting choices for honouring your loved ones.

Evergreens

There are many different evergreen shrubs to choose from, and they can be found in all sorts of shops, often for a fairly low price. What most of them have in common is that they're hardy, low maintenance, and, of course, green throughout the seasons.

The one thing to bear in mind with a lot of evergreens is that they can eventually grow rather large. That won't be a problem with regular pruning and trimming, which won't need to be done all that often to keep them manageable.

Daffodils

These cheerful springtime flowers will pop up year after year once they're planted, like many other bulb plants. That means that you can pretty much forget about them when they're out of season, and they'll still reappear after winter with their bright yellow blooms.

Lavender

Lavender is a fairly tough plant that doesn't need much in the way of looking after. It can grow big, so it might need trimming sometimes, but it's not a particularly fast grower so you won't have to cut it back all the time. Its lovely purple blooms are great for bees and have a distinctive, relaxing scent.

Shasta daisies

These bigger versions of the smaller wild daisy are bright, happy flowers that can really brighten up a monument. They're perennials, so they'll grow back each year, meaning you won't need to keep replanting to enjoy them.

Artificial flowers

If you're unsure of living plants or want something with the lowest maintenance possible, consider getting some artificial flowers. While they're not quite the same as having a live plant, they can look stunningly realistic nowadays, and they give you a much wider choice than you'd otherwise have. They'll also be there all year, whatever the weather.

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