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Memorial Day Plantings

Recommended plants for adorning gravesites

by R. Wayne Mezitt

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Because sites like this tend to receive less attention than a garden near the home, plants that require less care and tolerate variable conditions will look best for the longest. Most favored are plants that flower for a long period or repeat bloom and don't overgrow quickly.

Annual geraniums come to mind as the "traditional" cemetery plant. They are attractive because of their long bloom, tolerance of dry soils, and minimal care requirements. Newer cultivars are even better because they offer different colors (orange, red, salmon, pink, purple and white) and tend to better self-clean their spent flowers. Because these are not winter hardy they must be discarded after the season and replaced every year. Other annuals like Salvia, Ageratum, and Alyssum are also widely popular because of their color and long bloom appeal.

A good herbaceous perennial choice would be dry-soil tolerant and reblooming Geranium sanguinium -- 'Album' (white), 'New Hampshire Purple' and striatum (pink). Salvia nemerosa cultivars come in a variety of colors and will rebloom if cut back. Try 'May Night' (blue), 'Snow Hill' (white) and 'Royal Distinction' (pink).

Some of the compact growing woody plants can be attractive -- the Connecticut miniature mountain laurel, Kalmia latifoia myrtifolia cultivars like 'Elf,' 'Little Linda,' 'Minuet,' 'Tiddlywinks,' and 'Tinkerbell,' are all nice and can be kept at about 3 feet high with minimal care.

Foliage plants like Hosta tolerate shade and most of the Artemesias (dusty miller, silver mound, wormwood) are useful. Also, some of the minimal maintenance and compact growing roses that tend to rebloom are nice ; any of the Knock Out series are recommended. Ask at your local garden center for other types that are disease resistant and slow growing, and that feature repeat flowers.

R. Wayne Mezitt is chairman of Weston Nurseries, Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

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