I’ve decided to plant a memorial garden in my baby’s name. Are there any special flowers that I should use?
A memorial garden is a wonderful way to honor your baby’s memory. It will be a lovely reminder that you can continue to cultivate and care for in years to come.
When it comes to selecting the flowers for your garden, there are several factors to consider, for example, the types of flowers that grow best in your region, and the size of your memorial garden. Certain flowers do seem to lend themselves to memorial gardens, however, such as bleeding heart, forget-me-not, and baby’s breath. You might also consider using a flower that share’s your baby’s name if one exists, such as Lily, Susan, William, or Violet. There are certain flowers known to attract butterflies, which may be a joyful reminder of your little one. Look for butterfly garden kits.
Several cultures have assigned specific meanings to flowers, notably the Victorians, and the Japanese. There are plenty of resources for flower meanings available in books and on-line. Below, you’ll find a list of flowers with meanings that might be particularly appropriate to a child’s memorial garden. This list is by no means exhaustive, but should be an excellent starting place to get you thinking about what you’d like your flower choices to represent.
- Acacia - eternal love
- Aloe - grief
- Alyssum - grace
- Amaranth - immortality, everlasting
- Anemone - resurrection
- Aster – God's grace, love, blessings
- Baby's Breath - sweet, gentle, innocent, harmless
- Balm - sympathy
- Bellflower – “thinking of you”
- Black-eyed Susan – encouragement
- Cherry blossom – transience of life
- Columbine - gentleness
- Crocus - hope
- Cypress – mourning, sorrow
- Daffodil - resurrection
- Daisy - innocence
- Delphinium - devotion, blessings
- Ferns - peace, acceptance, grace, serenity, gentility, quietude
- Forget-me-nots - memories
- Fuchsia - harmony, healing for those who grieve, angels
- Geranium – comfort
- Heather - solitude
- Heliotrope - devotion
- Honeysuckle – devoted affection, bonds of love
- Impatiens - patience, steadfastness, loving-kindness
- Iris - inspiration
- Ivy – fidelity, endurance
- Jasmine - peace, goodwill, and healing
- Larkspur – beautiful spirit
- Lavender - devotion
- Lily - faith, grace, and spiritual healing
- Lily of the Valley - sweetness
- Lisianthus - calming
- Marigold – pain and grief
- Nasturtium - protection
- Olive - peace
- Pansies - gentle thoughts
- Peonies - thoughts of the past, memories
- Petunia - peace, harmony, serenity, uplifting of the body and soul
- Pink Rose - Grace
- Poppies - eternal sleep, consolation
- Queen Anne’s Lace - femininity
- Red & White Rose - unity
- Tulips - faith, hope, and charity
- Verbena - peace
- Violets - shyness, humility, quiet joy, tender thoughts, gentle love
- Rosemary - remembrance
- Star of Bethlehem - hope
- Sweetpea - shyness
- Thyme - peace
- White Lilac – youthful innocence, memories
- White Lily - purity
- White Rose – Purity
- White Tulip - forgiveness
Each Month of the year also has one or more flowers assigned to it. Choosing the flower for your baby’s birth month and due month might make a nice tribute.
- January - carnation
- February - iris, violet, primrose
- March - daffodil
- April - daisy
- May - lily of the valley
- June - rose
- July - larkspur, water lily, sweet pea, delphinium
- August - gladiolus
- September - aster, forget-me-not
- October - calendula (marigold)
- November – chrysanthemum
- December - holly, poinsettia
