Graveyard Plants

A friend recently posted on Facebook about periwinkle vine covering the ground in a cemetery. Around here people call periwinkle "graveyard vine." With good reason. The pretty, dark green vine is often found in cemeteries. In Spring it will bloom a violet-blue five-petaled flower--hence the name periwinkle for the color of its blossom.

Why was it planted in old graveyards? I asked a neighbor that question. She replied that it was because the plant was a good ground cover for graves, staying green all winter and growing low to the ground so it was not an impediment to walking or mowing. Makes sense to me.

Yucca in cemetery at Jackson's Mill, WV

Another plant often found in cemeteries is Yucca, also called Spanish Dagger. Seems an odd one for a graveyard, doesn't it? But yucca has another name: Eternity Plant. This spiky, arresting plant can live for hundreds of years.

Yucca protects a grave at a cemetery in Benwood, WV

Yucca is also referred to as Adam's Needle--I would love to know the origin of that name.

Evergreens in cemetery in Shepherdstown, WV

Cedars and evergreen trees are another favorite in graveyards--often we'll spot a cedar tree in a seemingly open field and sure enough there will be a cemetery beneath the tree. In England, pagans of old considered evergreens to be a sign of everlasting life, proof that life can continue even after winter's "death" of other plants.

Boxwoods overtake a grave in a cemetery in Sistersville, WV

Many still believe an evergreen in a cemetery--holly and yew are also graveyard favorites--symbolizes the eternal life we are promised by the Bible.

Blue spruce in the National Cemetery in Grafton, WV

You will find other perennial plants in burial places: iris, daylilies and peonies are commonly planted on graves. It is easy to see why these old perennials were favored. These plants returned every year, bloomed beautifully and in the case of iris and peonies, had heavenly scents. All of them spread, but not as rampantly as some other plants might.

Next time you visit an old cemetery, look around and see what plants are growing there. And think about the hands that so carefully dug the soil and planted these on the graves of their loved ones.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.