Help with Bulbs or Plants?

JJnovice

I hope someone can point me in the right direction please.

I'm trying to put together a 'long pot' of bulbs or plants for say Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.  The 'long pot' is to be placed at the head of my mother's grave so there will always be some kind of plant there.  We have tried potted fuschia plants either side but a couple of them died.  So I thought maybe bulbs would be a better idea?  Can anyone give me any pointers please.  My Mum was a keen gardener and I would like her grave to look nice in memory of her.

Thank you in advance.

Fairygirl

Hi @JJnovice - no matter what you plant, it'll need attention. 
Bulbs can be easier, but they'll still need soil topped up and/or refreshed. Watered. They also need divided every so often as that's how they naturally multiply. One container wouldn't really be able to support bulbs for several seasons - it would be very sparse.
It will also depend on what is around. Where my niece is buried there's loads of conifers and nearby trees, so even with the rainfall we get, all of that makes it difficult to establish anything, and even a pot of bulbs would need watering.

I think you'd need separate pots/containers, planted to suit the season. You could combine some easy spring bulbs [ crocus and dwarf daffs for example ] together with low maintenance perennials like hardy geraniums, then maybe a container with hardy cyclamen, hellebores and heucheras for autumn through winter. The latter selection prefers a semi shaded to shady site, so it depends on the conditions. 

philippasmith2

You can plant bulbs at various depths in the same planter but depends on the depth and width of your planter and the makeup of the soil you use.
Various daffs, snowdrops, wood anemones, crocus and cyclamen would see you thru part of the year - tulips may do but they can be a bit picky.
Perhaps if you could give the size and depth and a rough idea of the site, it would help others to offer suggestions

JennyJ

If you have a particular container that you want to use, you could get some big plastic plant pots that just fit inside it, then you can grow seasonal plants at home and swap them out. Make sure both inner and outer containers have drainage holes.