With the arrival of cooler days after summer, it is also time to take autumn into account when designing your grave. Traditionally, November is the month in the year to honor the dead; on the holidays of All Saints and Deadly Sunday, family and close friends usually meet at the grave. With an autumn-themed grave bowl, the grave can quickly look attractive again on these special days of remembrance, without the need for extensive work. A grave bowl can always be designed in very different ways.
Grave Bowl
The amount of work involved in classic grave design is quite high, but using a grave bowl can make this work extremely easier. An attractive grave bowl is very decorative and simplifies the design of the grave area. With a grave bowl, the entire grave no longer has to be cared for and designed as a unit, but only a very small part of it. The rest of the grave area can then be decorated with undemanding plants and other decorative elements. The size of the grave bowl should be in proportion to the size of the grave; for a double grave it may be a larger version. The following aspects should be taken into account when making a grave bowl:
- Grave bowl ensures significant labor savings
- Wide range of shapes, materials and decorations
- Grave bowls made of elegant ceramic and robust stone are ideal
- Alternative materials include aluminum, bronze, stainless steel, granite and brass
- Elegant lines and artistic relief design look particularly elegant
- Look for winterproof and weatherproof models with high quality
- Prepare the remaining grave area attractively with stones and gravel
- Grave bowls with water storage bring out cut flowers to their best advantage
- Long-lasting decoration whose appearance changes quickly through the planting
- Plastic grave bowls break quickly
Tip:
The grave bowl must definitely have a hole in the bottom so that excess rain or irrigation water can always drain away easily. An additional device for assembly and anchoring is also practical.
Grave design in autumn
The goal when designing the grave is to create a harmonious overall picture of the plants, the gravestone and the grave decorations. When decorating a grave, muted tones should be given priority; bright colors have no place in the cemetery. Autumn is the time of year when the grave must be made winter-proof. Depending on the altitude, a thick layer of snow can be expected in many regions, which should survive the grave area without causing any damage. In the period before the holidays of All Saints and Sunday of the Dead, great importance is attached to stylish grave planting. The following factors should be taken into account when designing a grave in autumn:
- Grave must be maintained regularly, otherwise it quickly becomes unsightly
- In autumn, fallen leaves and faded plant parts must be removed
- Covering graves without seasonal plants in the cold season
- Twigs of Norway spruce and silver fir are ideal
- The exclusive Nordmann fir is well suited for newly created graves
- Mix of different colored conifers provides particularly decorative accents
- It's better to avoid cut flowers, they don't last very long
- Only plant flowers if there is enough time for grave care
Design suggestions
How the rest of the grave area is designed depends largely on what type of grave it is and how much time is available to care for the grave. A family grave site with a large-format double gravestone generally requires increased care, although a single grave is much easier to maintain. An urn grave with an urn gravestone is one of the easiest graves to care for. It is better not to choose too many different shapes, colors and plants, as these combinations leave a restless overall picture. A harmonious interplay of low-growing ground cover plants with slightly taller grasses and flowering heather plants is ideal, so that the whole thing becomes a pleasant sight. The following design ideas have proven successful in grave care:
- Colored gravel in subtle tones gives the grave area a special touch
- Durable and insensitive materials are particularly suitable as grave decorations
- Moss, pine greenery and pine cones are ideal, these create beautiful autumnal accents
- Grave bowl can be filled with holly, dried flowers, colorful fruits and colored thistles
- Combine columnar and pyramid-shaped plants together
- Pay attention to warm natural tones
- Grave bowl can be easily combined with other grave accessories, e.g. B. with the grave lantern
Tip:
A good source of inspiration for new design ideas are the flower shops for cemeteries and other graves in the cemetery, which can be explored on a relaxed tour.
Autumn planting
So that the grave appears well-groomed at any time of the year, we recommend using plants from the respective season when planting the grave bowl. Until October there are late-blooming flowers and plants in nature, which impress with their bright autumn coloring of the leaves and the formation of fruits. Winter-hardy plants are particularly advisable for autumn, as they can survive early frost nights without damage. In addition, robust, perennial varieties can often survive the winter and then fully sprout again in spring. The following procedure is recommended for autumn planting:
- Evergreen and hardy plants form an ideal base for the grave
- Rely on resilient plant varieties
- Low-growing plants and ground covers can survive even strong autumn storms
- Ivy and heather are both heat-resistant in summer and insensitive to winter cold
- Plants with warm autumn colors are particularly suitable, ideally in red and yellow
- The potted heather is ideal, with dark red, pink or white flowers
- Asters, chrysanthemums, horned violets and pansies ensure a colorful planting of the grave bowl
- Broom heather, Christmas rose, silver leaf and winter heather create the change to winter grave planting
- Harmonious color combinations are particularly attractive, e.g. B. Juniper with snowberries
- Make sure the height distribution is graded
Tip:
Short-growing grasses look very beautiful and present themselves in autumn with a varied color palette and are well suited to combining with flowers.
Security & Cleaning
Autumn is known for its strong gusts of wind and heavy rain, which often turn into storms that last for days. That's why the grave bowl needs good security so that it doesn't tip over and destroy the entire grave. So that the grave bowl can be planted without any problems for the change of seasons, it should be cleaned in between so that the plants can grow he althy and problem-free. The following aspects are crucial when securing and cleaning the grave bowl:
- A storm-proof fastening of the grave bowl is extremely important
- Very heavy grave bowls made of stainless steel, bronze or brass are somewhat protected against gusts of wind due to their own weight
- Easily bury ceramic grave bowls or fix them between large stones
- It is ideal to attach the grave bowl directly to the base or stone slab of the grave
- Tightly screwed grave bowls are also safer from theft
- Clean the grave bowl well when changing the plants
- Wash off with a little warm water and a soft cloth
- Always clean the bowl from time to time, otherwise the dirt will settle quickly
- Plant residues promote mold formation and pest infestation
- Never clean metal grave bowls with steel brushes or steel wool
- Avoid chemical cleaning agents as they damage paint, paint and plants
Conclusion
There are many ways to design a grave bowl in autumn, individual inspiration can be found at grave floristry shops or by taking a walk in the cemetery. Nothing stands in the way of a grave design with a personal touch, but the cemetery environment should be taken into account when planning. Discreet grave decorations with an elegant design are much more appropriate than bright colors and extremely eye-catching decorations. Evergreen and hardy varieties are suitable for planting, including ivy, heather, common heather, autumn asters, winter heather, juniper and Christmas rose. These plants can withstand strong autumn storms and are not particularly demanding to care for. A grave bowl can be perfectly adapted to the autumn season and planted accordingly; warm and bright natural tones play an important role during this season.
