Hi everyone, I just found this site and wondered if anyone had any ideas for me. I am building a memorial garden for my Dad. The place I want to plant it is in a pine grove in my front yard. There is a rock we would sit on when he came to visit, so that is really the place I want it....but I am unsure of what could survive the pines and shade.

I really would like to plant forget me knots, but not sure they would grow..but I am going to try

Also his favorite flower is the yellow rose. Does anyone know of a small yellow rose that could grow in these conditions?

Thanks in advance for your help, Nikki

The forget-me-not is a beautiful flower and one I too use in special circumstances such as this. I made them in icing for the decoraton on my wedding cake and my eternity ring has gold forget-me-nots woven into the band.

I don't know what would grow there Nikki because I live in a different country, but violets grow here under similar conditions that you've mentioned.

Have you thought of attaching a plaque to his rock? That would be so lovely.

I'll leave the rose up to the experts but I also the love the yellow rose. Where I come from, yellow is for remembrance. Maybe Rosemary might grow in there for the very same reason? Just a thought.

How old, tall and close together are the pine trees?
Is anything growing under them now?

It is very difficult to grow things under pine trees.

Here are some suggestions.

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/pines.html

Forget-me-nots are basically a wild flower. They bloom mostly in spring, and require alot of moisture.
I have success under oaks, with Lily of the Valley,
spring bulbs, and ivy. Ferns are nice too.

Wild type plants do better in difficult situations like you have.
Making sure there is enough nitrogen in the soil, is also important, as trees drain it out. Same with water.

I don't think roses would work...they need alot of sun.
But you might get some daylilies to bloom there (if you get 1/2 day sun at least) and there are some nice little types that are yellow.

Possibly, some type of a tea rose might survive in the area you're considering. (I have yellow, pink and white tea roses that have survived through some pretty harsh temperatures here - from 20 degrees to triple digits. They are planted in a shady area of my yard. I've had them for, roughly, 10 years.)

Hostas, Rhododendrons, Azaleas grow well in the type of soil under pine trees and they don't need much sun. I use them a lot in shady areas under pine trees in my landscape jobs. Also Heuchera (Coral Bells) is another good idea. Hosta and Heuchera are perennials while the Rhoddies and Azaleas are shrubs. You can find lots of different colors and sizes and there is even an Exbury Azalea that is deciduous that is has a very pretty bloom.

There are also some sedum ground covers that would be nice as well. Some of the variegated ones do very well in shady, acidic soil.

My advice to you is to talk to your local nursery (not the box store ones) and see what they suggest for your area. One thing about Rhoddies is they prefer well drained soil so you might have to add a little sand to the planting area, but other than that, each year adding some fertilizer for those plants, they should do fine.