CEMETARY PLANT SUGGESTIONS?

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

My sister lives closest to where my folks are buried and she tries to keep nice things at the graves. (WNY) She has tried artificial flowers, flags, etc,. but wants live flowers.

She uses artificial items during the winter months when the temp is below freezing.

The deer and bunnies tend to eat the live flowers during the warmer months, so it's frustrating for her.

Suggestions and feedback welcome.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

I have a ton of bunnies and deer around my house. They destroy my foundation plants at the front of my house.

We spray everything a few times a month all year around, or we would have nubs.

I plant short bushy marigold plants....not the taller ones and they leave them alone. They also don't bother snapdragons.

Black eye Susan's would work too and they reseed every year, so you won't have to replant them.

Animals are not drawn to plants with a strong fragrance.

My neighbor hangs lifebouy bar soap with a string through a hole she pokes through it on posts around her garden. She says it works. I have never tried it.

You can also try spraying plants with a bad tasting compound made to repel animals. We get it at Home Depot. If you rains a lot, you have to reapply.

D Kay · ‎04-20-2010

I'm assuming you're talking about planting flowers on the grave? If you Google "deer and rabbit resistant flowers", it shows several.

Susan345 · ‎08-19-2019

As long as I can remember my family has put out planter boxes of geraniums. And I am no kid.

The tradition still goes on today. Don't know your climate but here in New England they do very well.

They need to be watered if the weather is dry but most pants do.

Last week my Brother told me that the boxes that spent the winter on his enclosed porch are still alive. And are starting to bloom.

In-x-s · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
My sister lives closest to where my folks are buried and she tries to keep nice things at the graves. (WNY) She has tried artificial flowers, flags, etc,. but wants live flowers.

She uses artificial items during the winter months when the temp is below freezing.

The deer and bunnies tend to eat the live flowers during the warmer months, so it's frustrating for her.

Suggestions and feedback welcome.

I try to do some kind of a red/white/blue planter on our parents grave each summer and haven't found anything the deer won't eat. Even if they don't "eat it", they chew it off and spit it out. This year I had a nice red and a nice white geranium with some fake blue flowers mixed in (just in case). I put it out the Sunday night before Memorial Day in hopes it would look nice for the Memorial Day Ceremony. It lasted overnight and by Tuesday, all that was left is a planter of fake blues

colleena · ‎03-27-2010

@Tinkrbl44 Thank you for this. I'm not sure on what plants would work for you but think that you will receive comments to help you from the community.

I'm stuck on what to do w/parents/relatives in their cemetary. Each had a vase for flowers or whatever but I think they were something some thought of value so went through the cemetary & stole them all. I've replaced them but again, they were stolen. So, now where the vase was is full of dirt & it's hard & I'm having a heck of a time getting the dirt out. & where we could plant or where I could put flowers is so darn hard it's just makes me so sad. The cemetary is older, not kept up to date & most of my family is there. & looks like I'm it on taking care of them. Any suggestions.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44 - We take care of three resting places, pretty much my whole family I grew up with. The problem is it's far from us. But we plant flowers in the spring and put real wreaths on at Christmas. (My grandparents had a Christmas tree farm, so I just have to buy real!)

The flowers we plant that the deer don't bother are geraniums and marigolds.

Nonametoday · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
My sister lives closest to where my folks are buried and she tries to keep nice things at the graves. (WNY) She has tried artificial flowers, flags, etc,. but wants live flowers.

She uses artificial items during the winter months when the temp is below freezing.

The deer and bunnies tend to eat the live flowers during the warmer months, so it's frustrating for her.

Suggestions and feedback welcome.

@Tinkrbl44

I live a long way from my mother's and grandparents' resting places and all my siblings do as well.

My cousins once did this as they have parents buried there also.

Before that, my mother put flowers on the graves of our grandparents.

Now many of the cousins nearby are all deceased and their children live far away.

The lady at the florist, who knew my mother personally because mother was in business in town told me (a few years ago) not to worry about keeping something there all the time because frequently things are stolen from one grave and placed on another (cemetery robbers exist), and for me to only put live flowers there at special occasions because they are more likely to die before they are stolen as most grave robbers go for the plastic ones.

I call her (or my siblings call) and she does it for us with flowers for Mother's Day, her birthday, Christmas and Easter. On the holidays, we also get a bouquet to put between our grandparents' graves.

Nobody knows and nobody cares but me and my remaining siblings so we share years to do that. I took last year so a sister has this year and a brother the next year. If someone should die, as has already happened, we just take the next one up.

We are not allowed to plant flowers there. We only have a very limited space. This is a rather old cemetery and is kept by families whose loved ones are buried there, and who started the cemetery, generations ago.

In-x-s · ‎03-09-2010

@beach-mom wrote:
@Tinkrbl44 - We take care of three resting places, pretty much my whole family I grew up with. The problem is it's far from us. But we plant flowers in the spring and put real wreaths on at Christmas. (My grandparents had a Christmas tree farm, so I just have to buy real!)

The flowers we plant that the deer don't bother are geraniums and marigolds.

@beach-momDo you think the marigolds are what prevent the deer from eating the geraniums? Mine are in a large pot because we can't actually plant flowers there but the deer sure do like my geraniums.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@In-x-s wrote:

@beach-momDo you think the marigolds are what prevent the deer from eating the geraniums? Mine are in a large pot because we can't actually plant flowers there but the deer sure do like my geraniums.

@In-x-s - IDK! The cemeteries are both in rural wooded areas. We actually plant them in the ground. We don't live close, but when DS was young he went to a Boy Scout camp about an hour from there, so after we dropped him off we went by the cemeteries. We had been up in May and it was August. The plants were blooming and looked great. Others there also use geraniums.

But I can't tell you if the marigolds make a difference. I do know we had geraniums on our porch in pots. They ate the flowers from those! But we still have buds they haven't bothered yet.

DH is hoping they won't bother our soon-to-bloom day lilies. He's spraying them with all sorts of potions!