Cemetery Plants

The Environment/Weather Powers That Be promised us that we would not have a drought like last summer.
They lied.
We have had basically no rain in the month of August and it shows everywhere.
I started thinking again about using more drought tolerant plants in my own garden and wondered where I could get ideas besides the Internet lists.
Ah! the cemetery!!

Cemeteries water only the display areas. The lawns are never watered and relatives or friends must tend the gravesides themselves. Basically the plants must be drought tolerant to survive.

The cemetery management encourages shrubs and evergreens and that's why this one looks quite good design-wise.

But shrubs and evergreens grow so one has to remember to factor in mature height and spread (or prune and tend them fastidiously) or they will outgrow their allotted area.

So what does well in these open, windy, dry sunny conditions? Sedum 'Autumn Joy' seems to do excellently.

This particular Hosta (no variegation) seems to be able to handle the sunny conditions.

And the ever-faithful Euonymus can hold its own as well.

Here a combination of annuals (geraniums and cordalyne) and evergreens (cedar) do well.

Above, violets add a perennial clump of greenery to red geraniums.

Here is a winning combination: boxwood right in front of the headstone, Dusty Miller as a silver accent and mix of red and white fibrous begonias as the accent. Now I know that this site is watered weekly which may account for its lushness but still - I think the choice of plants are drought tolerant.

The 3 photos above show a colourful combination of annuals that are probably watered weekly but nevertheless have survived this summer of heat, high humidity and drought.
Keep these in mind if drought is a factor in your area during the summer months.

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Eustoma - common name: Lisianthus

My father is wonderful at growing plants from seed and under lights. One year he brought me a plant I had never heard of: Lisianthus (pronounced lizzie-ANN-thus).

What a beauty!! It looks like a rose and lasts for weeks as a cut flower.

The true name of Lisianthus is Eustoma, and it is a genus of the Gentianaceae family. It is commonly found on the American Prairie and in the Southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and northern South America.
Here it is grown and planted as an annual, growing 18-24" tall. Often, there are many blooms on a single stem. I do stake them because they will bend in bad storms.

Lisianthus come in a variety of colours. This year I have a mauve-blue, white and bi-colour.

Lisianthus can be challenging to grow. As I said, my Dad grows them from seed but they must be started very early, not just several weeks before planting. The seeds are tiny and therefore hard to see. But he has been successful year after year and they are now a staple in mine and his garden.

They enjoy being planted in rich fertile soil. They like moist soil but dislike being over-watered. They tolerate drought very well.

Other common names include Prairie Rose, Texas Bluebell and Prairie Gentian.

If you feel that trying to grow them from seed would be too frustrating and time-consuming, look for some started plants at your local nursery next spring. They truly are a satisfying, beautiful annual to have in your garden and in vases within your home.

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