Earlier this week, our family dog of 11 years passed away. He was 13 years old, a rescue dog from our local shelter. We THINK he was a Bernese Mountain Dog/Rottweiler mix, a very gentle & loving animal! Needless to say, my family & I are heartbroken. My husband buried him in our yard. It is an extremely shady spot & I want to make the area into a flower bed to memorialize him. His name was Blaze as he had a white "blaze" on his upper chest. I tried to find plants with this name & the only thing I could find was a rose bush, which needs more light than I can give it. Any suggestions of what I should plant? I live in zone 6 (PA).

I planted a Japanese Maple over my dog's grave. They like shade, there are many leaf styles and growth habits and some only get 3 feet tall.

I'm sorry for your loss. Its hard to lose a pet. I miss my dog everyday.

Daisy

Each dog is irreplacible.
When I think of shade in your zone I think of Hosta - not as flowery as some plants but still pretty.
I looked to see if any Hosta have been named Blaze.

Yes, I see Blazer, Blaze of Glory, Blazing Saddles. Two of these have photos in our database.


Our database lists Blazer but no photos yet.

If you still have your heart set on a rose, Rosa canina (the Dog Rose) is shade tolerant.

So sorry about your dog. We lost a 12.5 year old a couple of years ago, but were acquired by a puppy a couple of weeks ago.

There are 11 daylilies with the word Blaze in their name, some are old cultivars and I don't know which are still available though.

Dog rose is a nice idea zuzu.

My dog Bear has been missing for 17 weeks. I can't bring myself to think he's dead but I'm thinking of doing something with this saying, Bear's name, his birthday, & the day he went missing. Maybe get a dog figurine to press into the cement. This would be a stepping stone or plaque for a memory garden. Maybe have a bench. I am sorry about your dog. They really are part of the family aren't they?

I agree with Greene! Hostas are beautiful plants and some have blaze-like streaks in them. They evoke a sense of peace wherever they are growing and some will reward you with beautiful blossoms.

I retired from my post as a regional coordinator for English Mastiff Rescue and I know your pain of losing your baby. It's agonizing and heart-wrenching. Thank you for choosing a rescue dog and take comfort in knowing that you will see each other again someday on the other side of The Rainbow Bridge.

There are many Erythroniums that are commonly called "Dog-toothed violets" if you want more flowers.

Dog's Tooth Violet (Erythronium 'Kondo')

First I want to say, I am sorry for your loss. My beloved Kent, 11 years old or so also passed away recently, 7/17/16. I got him at the local shelter and the guess was he was 2 or 3 at that time. I wanted to plant flowers on his resting place, as well. I am not certain what I will plant, but a dogwood tree might be nice, as they do well shaded by other trees and you can start with a small one. They are beautiful in spring. God bless you and your family. You can see my Kent on YouTube if you look up Kent loves buns. He loved bread. Also smiling dog may take you to the video. I miss him so much.

Soo sorry for your loss -- pets are family too. There are also Hostas with a white blaze down the center, that you might consider, such as Hosta Banana Boat - even though the word "blaze" is not in the name.

Perhaps plant a variety of shade plants to make a little shade memorial garden would be nice?

How about dogwood (Cornus)? ^^ There is also C. canadensis, which is a lovely ground cover plant which produces blazing red berries in autumn

There is also this Peony called "Blaze."

Database indicates that it will tolerate partial shade, and I have a couple of peonies that are doing quite well in shaded areas.

Number 2 vote for a dogwood.for a centerpeice.hear in California's lower sierra nationl forest east of fresno.they grow under the tall pine trees.they bloom all summer long.with great big 4 to 5 inch flowers.trees are not big.or real bushy. I like the other suggestions also. It would be nice to see your decision when you get er done

I agree with the dogwood suggestion, they bloom, are very hardy, live a very long time, like shade and require basically no care once they are established. Trees make great memorials -if you have room! they are small trees and can be pruned/shaped.

Sorry about your pooch, it's always hard to lose a pet. I like the dogwood idea as well, if there's room for it. If you do a search in the plant database, there are a number of plants that contain the word Blaze. You could choose one that fits your site.

How about this dogwood - kind of has a blaze look to the leaves.

Very sorry for your loss.

Makes me think of a book I read as when I was a kid: Where the Red Fern Grows.

They made a movie of that wretched book, too. I still haven't forgiven my husband for putting it on the TV. Yank your heart out. Heck, I can't even watch "Lassie Come Home" without sniveling. Keep that stuff away from me! It's bad enough losing my own dogs, without watching or reading heartwrenching stories like those!

But I do love the idea of memorial gardens and special flowers for our lost little ones.

@Woofie, Then stay away from the movie Hachi: A Dog's Tale!!!!!

Thanks for the warning!