GRAVESIDE DECORATIONS WITH CHRISTMAS ROSES, SNOW ROSES AND LENTEN ROSES

Christmas Roses are becoming increasingly popular as decorative graveside plants. One reason is their unusual flowering time, of course, because cold temperatures and frost make it difficult to create a flowering graveside in winter. Particularly on days when the bereaved might want to gather and commemorate their deceased relatives and friends – All Saint's Day and around Christmastime – most flowering plants are in deep dormancy. However, this is precisely the time when many Christmas Rose and Snow Rose varieties show their (first) flowers. Most Lenten Roses join in a little later – from January onwards.

Word of Christmas Roses being low-care beauties is getting around. The Christmas Rose is virtually made for peaceful places. It doesn't stretch to an excessive height and loves to be left alone after planting. The white flowers of the Christmas Rose create a dignified graveside design in permanent graveside plantings, planters on graves or as cut flowers in grave vases even in winter.

Most flowers chosen for use on cemeteries are typically white, but the pale colours of Snow Roses and colourful Lenten Roses also make dignified stylish grave decorations that bring hope into the dark time of year.

HELLEBORUS FOR GRAVESIDE PLANTINGS

Planted on a grave, Helleborus is just as easy to care for as it is in the garden. Once planted and watered in, it only needs to be watered if the winter is unusually dry. It doesn't want to be fed until its second year, because it stops growing after being planted and doesn't continue to grow again until spring. For a low-maintenance graveside planting, heather (Calluna), silver ragwort (Jacobaea maritima), grasses, alum root (Heuchera hybrids), dwarf juniper (Juniperus communis var. saxatilis), dwarf hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana gracilis') and stonecrop (Sedum) are perfect companion plants for Christmas Roses.

HELLEBORUS IN PLANTERS FOR GRAVESIDE DECORATION

Hellebores create beautiful, low-care graveside decorations in planters or pots. Basically, the same rules as for direct graveside plantings apply. However, more care has to be given to make sure the plants don’t dry out. Complemented by hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen coum), snowdrops (Galanthus) and crocuses (Crocus) in a planter, hellebores can create lovely floral decorations for special commemoration days.