I planted Crocus around my Dad's and they come up every year. I live in Illinois zone 5 it can get to -25 below they still come up. We can't do anything else they would get mowed over. Rules you know.

Nancy

Hosta, especially the one with scented flowers. Daffs and crocus would both be beautiful!

I'd make sure first it's alright to plant anything. Here, it isn't allowed.

Yes, it's all right to plant things. I asked about regulations first thing.

Thanks for the thoughts so far! Many hostas will burn in the full sun but I love the idea of a small foliage plant mixed in with the bulbs... hmmmm....

A traditional plant in some of the old graveyards here in the midwest is the fern leaf peony (piney). It stays small, can live for a long time with no attention, and the foliage dies back, and it goes underground when the weather gets hot and dry, rather than flopping about.

What a nice idea! Some of the new roses might fit the bill. The Carpet Flower roses require almost nothing - I have the coral one in my yard and it thrives on neglect. Some of the interesting foilage sedums would look good both in flower and out. The seed heads would be nice in winter too. You could think multiple flowerings here - early crocus, species tulips (tarda), late dafs, low shrub roses and sedums. That would work, I think.

How about some sedums or succulants? They don't require allot of attention or water.

I have tried both peonies and irises for my dad's grave site. Both are common in cemetaries around where he lived in rural KS. Unfortunately although it is allowed to plant things at that cemetary it seems to also be the rule that if the plant is small enough to mow over without damage to the mower it's a goner.

Daylilies would be nice, I think. And they are practically indestructible. I have the usual Stella d'Oro's, but they are really workhorses and very pretty.

If it is dry, they just don't get so big or bloom so much. The lady across the street has them next to her concrete walk, and she never waters -- not even last summer. They like heat. Mine are next to a walk, too.

I water them, but we measured the temperature in that spot before we planted things there, and it was over 100 degrees right there in that bed on that summer day.

I like all the ideas so far, and only wanted to add a suggestion of a hardy mum, for fall color.

Also, some hostas seem to do fine in full sun, as I've seen from different intentional or unintentional plantings. So if you really like the idea of a hosta, it can be done. I don't know the name of a full-sun one, but the ones I've seen in full sun were the lighter/striped ones.