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Ideas needed please

• Message 1. 

  Posted by bubbajay1978 (U15159525) on Thursday, 23rd February 2012

  I need help...
  
  Back in 2010 we lost our baby boy. We had him buried in our local church yard and a head stone was laid this January. I would now like to create a lovely little garden for him but I do not have the faintest idea what plants go well with each other. I would like flowers spanning all seasons if possible, the only restriction that the church has in place is nothing big. I would like plants that attract wildlife.
  
  Any ideas would be much appriciated :D
  
  Kind Regards
  
  Naomi

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• Message 2

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  Posted by kate1123 (U14824475) on Thursday, 23rd February 2012

  First of all can I offer my condolences.
  
  Can I suggest lavenders, make sure you get the proper hardy ones. You will probably be able to get some lovely blue ones. In the summer they will attract insects and smell lovely. You could under plant them with spring bulbs if you wish.
  
  Most flowers require a fair bit of maintenance and the correct soil, often difficult to organise in a church yard. My mum plants a grave with begonias, which are low maintenance but not wildlife friendly.

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  Posted by Miss Bateman (U15159713) on Thursday, 23rd February 2012

  Hello, sorry for your loss. We have a small arrangement around my sisters grave and we planted daffodils, tulips and bluebells for spring flowering, ( to late to plant now for this year but will produce for next year and every year. Low maintanace as well. The ground can be quite stony but we have found a japanese anemone plant works well for summer flowering.
  
  Regards

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  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Thursday, 23rd February 2012

  I think primroses are one of the nicest plants, as if they are happy they will self-seed, and they bring promise of new beginnings when they flower.

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  Posted by horththit (U13862695) on Friday, 24th February 2012

  Hello Naomi, so sorry for your loss. Snow drops would be lovely when there's nothing else around and I agree, wild primroses too. Anemones are beautiful too and seem to have more than one season and not too tall. Anemone blanda are tiny but a lovely shade of blue. So many Spring bulbs to choose from, the summer needs a bit more thought. Good luck

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  Posted by As-If (U15116884) on Friday, 24th February 2012

  Low-growing, colouful plants for spring could be snowdrops (the first to flower), primulas, tete-a-tete daffodils and crocus.
  For autumn/winter, `springwood white` heather, and a pink heather called `furzey`. There is a tiny evergreen shrub that has red berries in mid winter called gaultheria procumbens.
  Its berries are interesting, because in spring a cross appears on the berry, and it miraculously turns into a flower.
  As all plants have to be small, I`d take a look at the alpine section at a garden centre to see what they`ve got. Most alpines are small.
  For summer, I`d choose a special pot, and position it on the grave. I`d fill that with summer bedding plants, maybe pansies, lobelia, or busy lizzies.
  In May the garden centres will be full of bedding plants to choose from.
  The summer flowers in the pot will last all summer, but will be discarded as the cold weather sets in.
  
  I`m aware that the garden plants I`ve mentioned are not all necessarily the plants that are being promoted nowadays as being "wildlife friendly", but my reason for choosing the plants I did, is that they are neat and colourful, and on a grave there isn`t a lot of space for flowers that are "on the wild side".

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  Posted by Ginglygangly (U14874813) on Friday, 24th February 2012

  Hello Naomi. What a lovely idea. Agree with the other posters about early spring bulbs like narcissi and snowdrops - they are so cheery after winter, when there aren't many flowering plants. One option for a small, winterflowering shrub might be daphne - they need minimal pruning if you choose the variety carefully and the scent is knockout in the winter. You could underplant this with bulbs, and primroses and anemones as suggested, and maybe forget-me-nots? I can also recommend hardy geraniums - they need very little looking after , will flower for months on end from spring onwards, have pretty flowers and are a magnet for insects. Also foxgloves -, although these are quite tall, so you'd need to think about where to put them - and aquilegias, which have very pretty flowers but are tough as old boots. Foxgloves flower June/July, Aquilegias in May - after the bulbs have gone over. You could also scatter some poppy seed. As already recommended, Japanese Anemones should give you flowers from late summer into early winter. Most of these plants are perennials, so once you have planted them they will come back year after year. The foxgloves are biennial and aquilegias last about 3 years, but if you let them go to seed, seedlings will pop up to replace them. Some combination of the ideas should ensure a mini-haven for wildlife. Best of luck

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