For a representative grave planting in winter, the survival artists from the plant kingdom are in great demand. Despite freezing temperatures, strong winds and cold, wet weather, they retain their decorative appearance without requiring time-consuming care. A colorful array of evergreen ground cover plants, ornamental foliage plants and winter bloomers invites you to create creative combinations. Be inspired here with 25 ideas and plants for an easy-care grave design.

Grave planting in winter

Evergreen ground cover

Floral leitmotif for the grave planting

One of the mainstays of a creative and low-maintenance grave design for the winter are evergreen ground covers. Because under this name all plants come together that do not shed their leaves and thrive much more in width than in height. Within a short time they form a dense carpet that effectively suppresses annoying weeds. The most beautiful types and varieties also score points in winter with colorful fruit decorations or colorful foliage. Thanks to their undemanding requirements, the following groundcovers are not only hardy, but also very easy to care for:

Ideas for graves in a sunny to partially shaded location

  • Gold ivy (Hedera helix) shines with golden yellow leaves edged with green, 15-20 cm high and 50-100 cm wide
  • Fingerbush 'Nuuk' (Potentilla tridentata), extra easy to care for and dense, 10-15 cm high and 20-40 cm wide
  • Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) evergreen leaves and red, edible berries, 10-20 cm high and 60-80 cm wide
  • Dwarf Thyme 'Minor' (Thymus praecox) forms dense cushions of foliage, 2-5 cm high and 15-20 cm wide
  • Prickly Nuts (Acaena inermis) with red-brown foliage and decorative fruit in winter, 5-10 cm high and 20-30 cm wide
  • Cylindrical Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites), stands out with blue-green leaves, 15-25 cm high and 40-50 cm wide
from left to right: cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon; Rolling Spurge, Euphorbia myrsinites

When choosing groundcover for dignified grave planting, ideally choose small-leaved varieties for the small-scale resting place. On the other hand, large-leaved ground covers are more effective on large graves. Also, give preference to slow-growing plant species over the growth rockets. A strong-growing creeping medlar (cotoneaster) grows up to 250 centimeters in width every year in a sunny location, so that it is oversized even for double burrows.

Groundcover for shaded resting places

  • Red carpet berry (Gaultheria procumbens), red berry decoration, 10-20 cm high and 30-40 cm wide
  • Low shade green, fat male (Pachysandra terminalis) with 8-12 cm height and 30-40 cm width
  • Goldberry (Waldsteinia ternata) with threefold, shiny leaves, 10-15 cm high and 30-40 cm wide
  • Small-leaved periwinkle (Vinca minor), leathery-elliptical ornamental leaves, 10-15 cm high and 30-40 cm wide
  • Creeping spindle (Euonymus fortunei), yellow-green variegated foliage, 10-30 cm high and 50-100 cm wide
from left to right: fat man, Pachysandra terminalis; Small-leaved periwinkle, Vinca minor

These plants are all very easy to care for. They should only be in the first few weeks after planting in autumn watered regularly so that they quickly root in the ground. However, a fully developed root system will not require further watering under normal weather conditions. An exception applies to winter frost, when there is no snow cover in the freezing frost and bright sunshine. The ground covers continue to evaporate moisture via the path of the evergreen leaves, so occasional watering is advisable.

ornamental foliage plants

Ornamental shapes amidst ground covers

The stylish grave planting is based on a balanced combination of ground cover and seasonal alternating planting. For the cold season, winter green foliage plants mix with the ground cover. These are perennials that set decorative accents with ornamental leaf shapes and are reliably hardy. They only shed their leaves at the end of winter. The following selection would like to fire your imagination for a perfectly shaped and easy-care design of the resting place with ornamental foliage plants:

  • Purple bells 'Frosted Violett' (Heuchera), magnificent perennial with pink-violet winter foliage, 30-50 cm high
  • Spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum), evergreen ornamental foliage plant, requires no pruning, 15-20 cm tall
  • Blue fescue 'BergSILVER' (Festuca cinerea), decorative ornamental grass with hemispherical cushions, 10-30 cm high
  • Bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia), classic foliage plant for the grave, 30-50 cm high
  • Silverbell 'Fire Alarm' (Heuchera micrantha) bright red foliage in winter, 30-50 cm high
  • Silver Wire (Calocephalus brownii), pretty small shrub with silvery shoots, 25-30 cm high
  • Houseleek (Sempervivum), the ideal grave plant for the sunny urn grave, 5-25 cm growth height
from left to right: blue fescue, Festuca cinerea; Bergenia, Bergenia cordifolia

For a balanced grave planting in winter, an arrangement that consists of two-thirds evergreen ground cover and one-third ornamental foliage plants has proven its worth. The alternating planting is then replaced according to the season. This allows you to create a changeable appearance of the resting place with little effort. However, houseleek species and varieties are exceptional, as they set decorative accents all year round with their shapely rosettes. Because sempervivum means 'always living' in translation, which gives the plants a sacred symbolic character as grave plants.

Winter flowering plants

Comforting splashes of color in the midst of wintry melancholy

Visiting a gravesite is particularly difficult for mourners during the dark season. In order to drive away sadness and melancholy, ideas that bring color are needed. Where brightly colored blossoms rise above evergreen ground covers, the bereaved find the floral ambassadors of blossoming life particularly comforting. Therefore, integrate the following species and varieties into the planting plan for the winter grave design:

  • Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), white bowl-shaped flowers from November to February, hardy to -40 °C, 10-25 cm tall
  • Lenten rose 'Anna's Red' (Helleborus orientalis) inspires with red flowers from January to April, 20-30 cm high
  • Winter heather 'White Perfection' (Erica darleyensis) white flowers from November to April, 30-40 cm tall
  • Hepatica 'Winterfreude' (Hepatica transsilvanica) boasts blue flowers from the end of December, 15-20 cm tall
from left to right: Christmas rose, Helleborus niger; Hepatica, Hepatica transsilvanica

The Christmas rose unfolds its winter blooms most beautifully in a semi-shady to shady location. Where the native perennial feels at home, it gains in floral radiance from year to year up to the old age of up to 20 years. All other winter bloomers of this selection prefer light to sunny locations.

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Garden design