If you run a cemetery, then part of the things you need to do to make your cemetery appealing is to plant perennial plants.
One of the primary reasons for planting perennial plants in cemeteries is to enhance the aesthetics of the area. These plants can add color, texture, and beauty to an otherwise solemn and sometimes somber environment.
Perennial plants on the other hand, which come back year after year, can represent the enduring nature of memory and the lasting impact of the deceased. Having said that here are some perennial plants you can plant at a cemetery.
10 Types of Perennial Plants to Plant at a Cemetery
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Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma)
Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma) is a member of the mint family and has clusters of red, purple, or pink flowers. This plant prefers moist, well-drained soils and full sun but will tolerate some shade.
Bee balm can reach a height of 4 feet and will spread rapidly by underground stolons. Blossoms attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, and the leaves have a minty aroma when crushed.
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Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Rudbeckia fulgida, the orange coneflower or perennial coneflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America.
It is an herbaceous perennial growing up to 120 cm (47 in) tall, with bright yellow daisy-like composite flower heads. Rudbeckia fulgida spreads by both stoloniferous stems and seeds.
The seeds are produced in fruits called cypselae, which are 2.2 to 4 mm long and have short coroniform pappi, 0.2 mm long. The ripe seed is a favorite food of finches in winter.
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Coral bells (Heuchera spp.)
Heuchera, commonly called coral bells or alumroot, is a genus consisting of about 55 species (exact numbers vary) of evergreen to semi-evergreen herbaceous perennials, all native to North America.
In fact, coral bells were one of the first plants exported back to Europe in the 1600s by early American explorers. They’re a great low-maintenance option for landscape beds and container gardens, available in a range of alluring colors.
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Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.)
Hemerocallis are herbaceous clump-forming perennials growing from rhizomes, some produce spreading stolons. They have a fibrous or fibrous-tuberous root system with contractile roots.
The tuberous roots are used to store nutrients and water. Overall, Daylilies are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care.
Daylilies adapt to a wide range of soil and light conditions. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and survive winters with little or no injury.
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Hosta (Hosta spp.)
Hosta is a flowering perennial mainly grown for its attractive foliage. The Hosta genus includes many species and varieties with different combinations of leaf shapes, colors, and patterns. Bell-shaped flowers in a variety of colors bloom in late spring to summer on top of stalks extending above the foliage.
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Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
If you have ever come across Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), you will agree that it is a suitable perennial plant for a cemetery.
A dwarf shrub that is broadly mounded, English lavender grows up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It blooms in the summer and has aromatic leaves, flowers, and dry seed heads. Purple flowers appear in terminal spikes in late spring to early summer.
Both foliage and flowers are highly aromatic. This plant is the source of the true oil of lavender. The flowers can be dried and used in potpourri.
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Liriope (Liriope muscari)
Liriope muscari is a species of flowering plant from East Asia. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass.
This small herbaceous perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall.
It is invasive to North America and considered a threat to native wildlife. It typically grows 30–45 cm (12–18 in) tall and features clumps of strap-like, arching, glossy, dark green leaves to ½ inch wide (1.3 cm).
Clumps slowly expand by short stolons to a width of about 30 cm (12 in), but plants do not spread aggressively. Roots are fibrous, often with terminal tubers.
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Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is yet another choice when it comes to perennial plants suitable for a cemetery. Vinca minor (common names lesser periwinkle or dwarf periwinkle) is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, native to central and southern Europe, from Portugal and France north to the Netherlands and the Baltic States, east to the Caucasus, and also southwestern Asia in Turkey. Periwinkle is a good choice for shady locations and is a good ground cover.
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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man’s pepper, devil’s nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier’s Woundwort, and Thousand Seal. The plant is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Achillea millefolium is an erect, herbaceous, perennial plant that produces one to several stems 0.2–1 meter (8–40 inches) in height and has a spreading rhizomatous growth form.
Leaves are evenly distributed along the stem, with the leaves near the middle and bottom of the stem being the largest. The leaves have varying degrees of hairiness (pubescence).
The leaves are 5–20 centimeters (2–8 in) long, bipinnate or tripinnate, almost feathery, and arranged spirally on the stems. The leaves are cauline, and more or less clasping, being more petiolate near the base.
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Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera)
Phlox stolonifera (creeping phlox or moss phlox) is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that is native to the eastern United States.
It occurs in woodlands and stream banks in the vicinity of the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania south to northern Georgia. Naturalized populations occur as far north as Québec, Canada.
Its flowers are pale purple, pink, or white, 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) in diameter, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens, which are borne on stems that are 15–25 cm (6–10 in) tall.
They lack the central band of color that is present in the flowers of the related Phlox subulata. The leaves are ovate. Those on creeping stems are 3–4.5 cm (1.2–1.8 in) long and 1.8 cm (0.71 in) broad, while those on the erect flowering stems are smaller, 2 cm (1 in) long.