Planting in memoriam for Celebration Day

Following its successful launch in 2022, Celebration Day gives us a new opportunity each year to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones who are no longer with us. It’s a day to connect with each other and reflect on the lives of those who have passed, whether they were friends, family, or anyone special who inspired us and shaped our lives.

Living legacy

One way to celebrate a lost loved one is to plant a ‘living legacy’ in their memory. Choose a prominent position and the plant will be a meditative focal point that offers seasonal interest and could serve as a wildlife habitat too. Observing a plant’s lifecycle across the seasons can have profound poetic resonance, especially in spring as the plant shakes off its winter senescence and surges back into growth, often with a flurry of delicate blossom.

Suitable plants might include a native

A native plant is one that originated or arrived naturally in a particular place without human involvement. In the British Isles, native plants are those that were here during the last ice age or have arrived unaided since.

tree if you have space. Everyone loves the symbolism of planting an acorn in the knowledge it will grow into a mighty oak, but in a typical domestic garden, it makes more sense to choose a smaller tree. Choose a slow-growing Japanese maple such as Acer palmatum ‘Katsura’ (H4m), the twisted corkscrew hazel, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (H4m) or the magnificently layered wedding cake tree, Cornus controversa ‘Pagoda’ (H6m). All have bags of personality and make an effective focal point.

Fruit trees such as Malus spp and Prunus spp offer a winning combination for wildlife value, seasonal blossom and of course fruit. Try Malus ‘Evereste’ (H4m) (seen in opening picture), crab appleMalus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’ (H8m) or Prunus ‘Ichiyo’ (H6m).

Gardening for wildlife

A variegated

Variegated means having leaves or other plant parts with streaks, blotches or patches of different colours. Typically, these would be a combination of two colours, such as green and gold or green and white.

holly tree, such as Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden King’ (H6m), will provide a handsome evergreen presence and reddish-brown berries for wildlife too.

A touch of symbolism

For added symbolism there’s eastern redbud, Cercis x canadensis ‘Eternal Flame’ (H4m) or the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata (H15m) which both have love-heart shaped leaves, or trees with a weeping habit such as goat willow Salix caprea ‘Kilmarnock’ (H2.5m) or the silver-leaved weeping pear, Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’ (H5m).

In smaller gardens, flowering shrubs will offer a permanent ‘feel-good’ reminder. Traditionally, roses are planted in memorial gardens, and certain cultivars are named for marketing with this in mind: Precious Memories, Thinking of You and Loving Memory. Perhaps instead look for one with an RHS Recommended: Award of Garden Merit such as Rosa ‘Compassion’ (an apricot-pink climber) or Rosa ‘Friends Forever’ (a pink floribunda) for best garden performance and buy them bare root, available from autumn to late winter, for best value and quick establishment.

In loving memory

Other plants with a memorial name include Clematis ‘Fond Memories’and Clematis ‘Remembrance’; Dahlia ‘Celebration Party’; Delphinium ‘Celebration’and dwarf Asiatic lily, Lilium ‘Happy Memories’. Perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

Myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-nots) are another spring option that are loved by pollinators and easy to grow, if not a little invasive

Invasive plants are those that grow vigorously, spread rapidly and can out-compete other plants. Native, non-native and cultivated plants can all be invasive.

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Funeral flowers, laden with symbolism, often have a simple purity of form that would make a thought-provoking addition to a garden, provided you can give them the right site and soil. A fragrant white lily such as Lilium longiflorum ‘White Heaven’ would look exquisite in a sunny border or patio pot, while Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’ prefers damp conditions or the outer margins of a pond. Fragrant white Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley) is another aromatic choice that is very effective in shade, while white snowdrops, Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’ or the white goblets of Magnolia grandiflora (H15m) will make a chic spring statement in any garden.

Plants for pollinators

While trees, shrubs and perennials offer longevity of flower and seasonal interest, annuals

Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season. They are generally easy to grow from seed or can be bought as young plants from garden centres. Annuals are ideal for growing in summer containers and filling gaps in borders. Some examples of annuals include sunflowers, cosmos, sweet peas and zinnia.

can deliver an equally poignant tribute: it’s no accident that delicate red field poppies, Papaver rhoeas,have become an enduring symbol of the war dead on Remembrance Day. Poppies were a common sight on the Western Front during the First World War (1914-18), where they flourished in the soil churned up by the fighting.

Grief and reflection

Memoria & GreenAcres Transcendence Garden

At the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, designers Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilson are creating the Memoria & GreenAcres Transcendence Garden, which aims “to deliver an uplifting, spiritual and inspiring space, reflecting the emotional and cultural shared experience at the end of life”. Key design considerations were how to create an attractive graveside location for both reflection and celebration, to which those in mourning will want to return and spend time.

How grief helped shape a Chelsea show garden

Bible Society: Psalm 27 Garden

An RHS Flower Show Tatton Park Show Garden, the Bible Society: Psalm 27 Garden designed by Ollie Pike, is inspired by the fact ancient churchyards are often full of native wildflowers and represent rare and precious wildlife habitats across the UK. The design brings together ideas of protection, guidance and courage in the face of loss, with a dramatic yew gateway – a typical churchyard plant symbolic of immortality.

However you spent Celebration Day in 2023, don’t forget to spend some mindful ‘me-time’ in the garden, savouring a few poignant moments filled with cherished memories and happy thoughts.

Gardening with the RHS podcast

In this episode of Gardening with the RHS, hear a touching tribute from Daisy Payne on what she’s doing in honour of Celebration Day on 28 May. Plus, growing plants with limited space, wisteria for front urban gardens, growing vertically whatever the space and London’s trees.

Listen to the podcast