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War Memorial Plants
Michaelhope1991
Posts: 5
in Plants
Good evening everyone,
I'm slowly being given control of the local war memorial down the road from where I am Here is an old picture of the memorial (the plants/shrubs have now been taken out, it is all lawn, the benches are still on the site). The site is in Greater Manchester North.
What I would like to do is 'spruce up' the memorial, re-introduce plants around it so the site looks alive and is somewhere where people want to sit by.
So my question is what would be good flowers to have around the sides/ flower bed surrounding the memorial. Ideally I'd like suggestions that would still be flowering around Remembrance Day.
Thank you in advance
0
Posts
Thanks, Edd
Totally forgot to put the link in: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1741892
I did wonder if letting mother nature do it's own work would be something to do. Thought I would ask in the forum where I know I'll get the best answers!
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1741892
Mr fothergills has seeds for an interesting poppy
http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/victoriacross.html#.VkuMs7__HMs
The war graves an France and Belgium are all planted out as 'English' style gardens. There were a ALOT of red roses. You can get lucky with repeat flowering types, I know I am further south but mine are still flowering now (if you ignore the black spot)
Anything that grows with pretty flowers would look nice. Spring bulbs, lavender, rosemary.
I think the act of caring for a memorial underlines that people, in general, still care about those who fought and died.
Evergreen foliage plants might be a way to go Michael. Unfortunately I can't open your link to see the pix, but a low growing shrub I've used here in a narrow space might suit quite well. Gaultheria procumbens - it has foliage which takes on reddish tints at this time of year, small white flowers in spring and red berries later on. It's pretty trouble free and undemanding. I use (mainly) other evergreen foliage plants, with the addition of spring bulbs, to give all year round structure, as it's an area I see from the rear windows.
This one has a Heuchera (Alabama Sunrise) next to it. They're also useful foliage plants and vary in colour from golds and greens to dark purply reds.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unsworth_Pole_Memorial_Garden_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1741892.jpg
Plants for any memorial are difficult. Even on an individual memorial plants are ravaged by local bunnies.. I have tried various plants and found in the last few years that rabbits scoff a lot but they tend no to prefer Lavender Augustihola and also Forget me nots...which also self seed and do seem appropriate..' Spring bulbs are Squirrel meal time delights' as are Rose buds... Good luck with you project...
This might be useful http://www.warmemorials.org/uploads/publications/359.pdf
Fairygirl has given some good advice. I would plant a mixture of evergreens so there will be something in November and annuals to flower all summer long. The summer annuals can be replaced with pansies, forget-me-nots and polyanthus in autumn for winter and spring and the flowers will all be set off by the foliage plants. The trouble with November is that frosts will kill off the flowers.
It's a Lonicera jo - I think it's May Green. I'd have to check. Has nice bright foliage pretty much all year round.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Not sure it had much in the way of flowers, but they do produce a few berries here and there. I have a few bright ones in another area and also just along from that one. I just cut back the odd stem if necessary, although that one is quite neat and well behaved.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
OH and I went to Ypres and Tyne Kot for Armistice Day last year. We were struck by how amazingly clean and tidy all the war memorials were from small cemeteries in Ypres to the huge expanse of Tyne Kot as well as all sorts of memorials on some of the roundabouts and hidden away in industrial estates. Photos here in case they help - http://s211.photobucket.com/user/Obelixx_be/library/1411%20Ypres%20and%20Tyne%20Cot?sort=9&page=1
Being a gardener, I also noticed a distinct lack of greenery apart from the expanses of grass and a few twiggy roses, lavenders and heucheras at that time of year. I would therefore advise going with evergreen foliage plants such as mahonia which can start flowering any time from November to February and is perfumed, skimmias and pieris if the soil is acid and maybe gaultheria mucronata 'Lilian' which produces pink berries from October. My viburnum bodnantense Dawn is flowering now and evergreen viburnum Eve Price will flower over winter.
If you plant some of these as structure, you can under and inter plant with spring bulbs and a wide range of herbaceous flowering plants and other shrubs to extend the season of interest all year.
There's rosemary, that's for remembrance;