The best time to plant new ground cover is late summer (late fall at the latest). So if you are planning a grave remodeling or redesign in the near future, you can start thinking about which plants you would like to have in the near future. Because among these plants there are species for every location and every condition. Which ground cover for the grave could you choose?
Evergreen, flowering, for sun or shade, with little water requirement and without fertilizing: There is a range of beautiful ground covers that can decorate the urn grave, single grave or double grave. And here they work very well as solitary plants as well as planted in groups or completely ground-covering. You not only get a great grave planting for the fall, but one that will decorate the grave all year round.
Which ground cover for the grave depending on the location?
You should know exactly whether the grave gets a lot, moderate or hardly any sun, because the choice of the right plant depends heavily on this. To help you choose the right one, we have listed suitable ground cover for the different locations. How about these ideas?
Grave planting for full sun
Second upholstery (Azorella trifurcata)
With a growth height of only three to five centimetres, the Andean cushions spread out like a carpet and, as low ground cover, cover the grave with a lush green. The flowers tend to be less conspicuous, as they have a greenish-yellow color that doesn’t stand out too much, but is still pretty to look at. Special advantages are that this ground cover is not only easy to care for, but also adorns it with green foliage all year round. If the ground cover for the grave has to like it sunny, the Andean cushion is ideal. The plant is also suitable for a slightly half-shady location.
Should it be flowering ground cover for the grave? This Sedum species develops really beautiful bright yellow flowers. They are also reminiscent of stars in their shape, smell of honey and appear in midsummer, from July to August. If you want a grave plant for the winter, this specimen, like the ones above, is well suited as it is evergreen and adorns with beautiful greenery even during the cold season. The fat leaf is very easy to care for and undemanding.
Moosbeere (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
This groundcover is better known under the name “Cranberry”. At ten to twenty centimetres, this plant grows significantly taller than the Andean cushion, but is just as dense and evergreen. The edible berries aren’t the only thing this ground cover has to offer. The foliage is also very attractive and pretty pink flowers appear in May and June. But for the plant to thrive, the location must also be really sunny. The ideal hardy ground cover for the grave in the sun!
Sommerheide (calluna vulgaris)
The summer heather is also very popular for grave planting, because it looks very interesting due to its long panicles of flowers that appear in August and September. A small disadvantage could be that the plant grows quite slowly. However, if you plant a sufficient amount the first time, that would in turn mean that you don’t have to keep a constant check on her. Summer heather is easy to care for, hardy and evergreen and can still decorate the grave in winter – a year-round beauty that can also be chosen in reasonable numbers for compact urn grave planting.
Sternmoos (Sagina was brought down)
Would you like moss as ground cover for the grave? We have a more interesting variant that gives the appearance of moss but scores with beautiful star-shaped flowers. The star moss is therefore not a moss (it is actually called a masthead mastwort), but only resembles it, but can also be ground-covering. As an evergreen grave plant, it is extremely easy to care for and hardy, so you can cultivate it on the grave for years to come. And it is also ideal for summer.
Medlar (Contoneaster dammeri radicans)
With white flowers, red berries and dark, thick foliage, the carpet medlar decorates graves as a cemetery plant and is one of the most popular ground covers for graves due to its low maintenance and low growth. Weeds don’t stand a chance as the plant grows so densely that no light gets under the leaves. It also doesn’t take many copies to get a beautiful rug. In any case, you can consider medlar for grave planting at All Saints’ Day and all year round, and the same goes for other varieties of medlar. You could also use the specimen for the border planting of the grave. Maybe that’s something for the grave planting on All Saints’ Day at the double grave.
cat paw (Antennaria dioica)
Not only the pink flower is immediately noticeable with this groundcover for the grave. The silvery-green foliage, which remains even in winter, looks very pretty and somehow makes the flowers more charming. The plant feels comfortable in partial shade, but can also stand in the sun. So if you need grave planting for full sun and little water, you’ve got just the thing. An important care measure is to cut the faded flowers together with the leaves.
What ground cover for the grave in the shade and partial shade
If the ground cover for the grave should be able to stand in the shade, the elf flower is a great option. Depending on the variety, it can grow up to 40 cm high and bloom in different colors. Make sure that the plant is not in the sun even in winter (e.g. due to the lack of foliage on trees that provided shelter in summer). You don’t get evergreen ground cover for the grave, but the foliage decorates the grave site in summer or winter.
Native hazel root (Asarum europaeum)
The slowly creeping hazel root gets inconspicuous, brown flowers, so it is more the foliage that gives it its beautiful appearance. Give the plant partial shade so that it gets a few hours of sunshine. This plant also grows relatively low and almost looks like a carpet due to the dense growth. Hazel is great for low-maintenance grave planting in winter as it is evergreen.
Spindle bush (Euonymus fortunei)
The spindle shrub is a true all-rounder, because it feels very comfortable both in the shade and in the sun. So you have a free choice here or choose the golden mean – the penumbra. These grave plants can be trimmed if necessary to keep them more compact in height without affecting their growth. Otherwise, the spindle bush can grow up to 50 centimeters high. It is also practical that the plant is not only evergreen, but that the leaves also turn a pretty red in autumn.
table yew (Taxus baccata ‚Repandens’)
This beautiful evergreen plant is slow growing but grows quite wide and dense. It produces flowers as well as berries and decorates the grave all year round. As a solitary plant, you can use it to create a small urn grave or cover larger areas on a double grave by combining several. The prickly leaves are pretty to look at and basically frost hardy. Only late frost in spring can damage them. The table yew can be planted in many ways: it feels comfortable both in the sun and in the shade. So if the grave is under a dense tree shadow, that’s no problem at all.
porcelain flowers (Saxifraga x cities)
White flowers and low, dense, grey-green foliage make the porcelain daisy a beautiful groundcover for the grave. The plant not only scores with its winter hardiness, but also with its robustness. For example, it can thrive wonderfully even on stony ground. The foliage grows about 5 centimeters high, while the flower stalks can reach a height of 20 centimeters.
Waldsteinie (Waldsteinia ternata)
Also known as trefoil golden strawberry, this creeper grows very densely, albeit slowly. However, she makes up for it with pretty leaves and yellow flowers that appear between April and May. If you are looking for hardy cemetery plants that also thrive in difficult places, you will be happy: The location should always be in the shade, because the ground cover for the grave does not tolerate direct sun all year round.