Hello all. One of my cats died recently and I want to plant some ideal plants over his grave. The problem is the spot receives little light. I want this spot to be full of colour and smell, with the possibility of attracting interesting insects such as butterflies. I live in Ontario so I am also looking for ideal perennial plants which will survive the cold winters.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
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Tom this is what my son and I did in similar situation. Last May, we had to bury a very dear old kitty who was here when we moved in 10 years ago. My son and I interred him in a 3-4 ft deep hole located in the inside-corner of the sidewalk and driveway out in front of the house. This location only gets late afternoon direct sun and the rest of the day it only receives tree filtered sunlight. So we selected and planted a Hydrangea (v.Nikko Blue) above him (thought about pussywillows); which is doing great. We left enough room between the shrub and the pavement that we put in some catnip, mums and astilbe. To this makeshift memorial garden, we also relocated some "Moonbeam" Coreopsis and daffodils from another flowerbed that needed thinning. This was divided and planted on both sides of the walk. We could always add some more catnip or a small variety of Hosta. Looks pretty good so we will see how this grows. Fran
I second Hydrangea. It'll do well in half shade and can survive Ontario winter without protection.
The peony is also good for your spot. Though the bloom time is short, it's beautiful when it does.
The oriental lily is also good if the spot isn't big enough for shrubs. You can add hosta or fern to cover the groud around lily.
Honestly, I can't see either a hydrangea or a peony blooming well in a an area the "receives little light." I can think of no perennial that will give you an extend show of colorful flowers and fragrance in the shade. I would suggest that you consider a fragrant hosta like Honeybells. It will do well in low light, blooms, and is fragrant. The flower color is white and it attracts bees, but not butterflies. Bloom duration is about two to three weeks. There are many handsome, large hostas that don't have fragrance. I would suggest Krossa Regal if you are looking for a larger plant. It has a nice vase-like shape, is a fast grower, has an interesting texture and color, and sends up flower scapes that can get 5 to 6 feet tall. The flowers are pale lavender. I have one that is about 7 years old and is over six feet across and about 3 feet high.
Hosta Honeybells:
I have bought a catnip plant, and will give this a try. This seems like a fitting plant. I have also planted speedwell, coral bells, and will give astilbe, queen of the meadow and columbine a try. I have a rose that has been growing indoors (patiohit) and will see what happens with this. These plants don't necesarily fill all my requirements, but from what I have found out should do well in the shade (?) Not sure about hosta-there is another one in my garden and it's huge and not particularly interesting.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions
As I recall, you said that the area got very little light. Speedwell (veronica) requires a good deal of light to bloom well. It also is prone to powdery mildew. Planting it in a low light situation will invite trouble. The same goes for the rose. You will get very few flowers and increase the likelihood of fungal diseases by planting in low light. I find that heuchera (coral bells) does best in part sun, with afternoon shade. I have some that will be moved next year because they have done poorly in shade. I have had better luck with tiarella in mostly shady areas. My filipendula (queen of the meadow) in unremarkable in full shade next to my gold standard hostas which are thriving. On the other hand, my astilbies do fine in mostly shade (as well as mostly sun) as long as they are evenly moist at all times. My tircyrtis (toad lilies) also do best in mostly shade and do poorly in sunny areas. There are thousands of varieties of hostas from very tiny to gigantic. While they may not be show stoppers (although the large ones can qualify), they are reliable, sturdy plants that thrive in a wide variety of stetting with little care.
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