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A sad day.

26 comments


Last Wednesday my eldest girl, Elizabeth rang me in floods of tears. When she came home from work she found her Belgian hare rabbit dead on the kitchen floor. We have looked after Cherry on many occasions and she asked if Cherry could ‘come home’. Of course we said yes. We think she had a heart attack during a thunder storm.
So on Saturday morning she joined the many small pets buried in the back garden. I have to find a suitable plant to mark her grave. At the moment there are some hyacinths and chinodoxia over her but I want a plant for the summer.

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Comments

 

How very sad for your daughter to have found Cherry deceased. Cherry looked to be a lovely pet. There is a sunny yellow plant called Bupleurum fruticosum, or Shrubby Hare's Ear, that might be appropriate.

10 Apr, 2018

 

I am so sorry to read this Sbg..she looked such a healthy rabbit too,and obviously a much loved family member..My daughter has a black rabbit called Flash, and he broke his leg before Christmas,and had a little pot on Lol.glad to say he is running around again,as good as new..good that Cherry will be at rest with your other little pets..xx

10 Apr, 2018

 

I have had that plant before Shirley but the pet cemetery is under the beech tree so it is in deep shade. I will look for a fern I think as I have quite a few. Cherry was an affectionate thing but very big, bigger than the cats in the neighbourhood. She always came up for a cuddle and a play with her ears. There kitten is also missing Cherry so he needs a lot of cuddles too.

10 Apr, 2018

 

Heartbreaking :-(

10 Apr, 2018

 

Oh dear, how sad, such a lovely looking rabbit.

10 Apr, 2018

 

So sad to here about the loss of the rabbit. Hope your daughter gets over his death soon.

We all love our pets & it was a sad couple of years when our 5 little dogs started to die - one by one.?

10 Apr, 2018

 

it is a sad fact that we give them our love but we know they will have to leave us and leave a hole in our lives. Cherry was only 41/2 yrs old which is quite young for a rabbit but she was loved very much. She was going to be destroyed by the breeder as she had a broken tail so wasn't of 'show quality'. At least she had a good life with Elizabeth.

10 Apr, 2018

 

RIP Cherry...
... good to know that she had such a wonderful life with Elizabeth. x

11 Apr, 2018

 

I am so sorry Seaburngirl for you and your daughter for the loss of Cherry. It is hard when we loss our beloved pets. Must be a comfort to your daughter to be able to "bring home", and lay to rest in your garden. Hope you find just the right plant.

11 Apr, 2018

 

Its always sad to loose your pet fried my condolences for your daughter it had a wonderful life and I hope your daughter had so many happy memories of her.
As for a plant which looks like a love heart as she was loved so much is a BEGONIA 'ESCARGOT

11 Apr, 2018

 

What a beautiful animal - she will be missed a lot, and its so sad that her life was so short. I always associate English bluebells with hares and rabbits and what better site than under a beech tree? And the leaves will have disappeared by the time your summer plants are functioning.

11 Apr, 2018

 

I'm so sorry to hear about Cherry's passing. She was cute. I had no idea a thunderstorm could cause a heart attack. I just posted a picture of Bedoogles. That's good information to know. How about a small bed of lettuce as a memorial? It's probably one of her favorite foods & lettuce can handle the shade.

11 Apr, 2018

 

So sad our pets are always precious to us. She was a beautiful rabbit. R I P Cherry

11 Apr, 2018

 

How about Harebells? * Cherry was a very handsome hare and deserves a colourful memorial.

* Campanula rotundifolia; is wild, edible and a nutritious food.

11 Apr, 2018

 

Thats ever so sad. What a beautiful animal. Will be greatly missed I’m sure. At least it has a proper and fitting place of rest. Xx

11 Apr, 2018

 

the problem with burying pets in our back garden under the beech tree is that it is very dry shade during the summer. so whilst I love the idea of harebells they wouldn't survive in that place. Same is true of the lettuce, too dry and she didn't like lettuce [carrots and broccoli, yes, lettuce, no] and most varieties aren't good for their digestive systems.
I've looked at the begonia but it isn't a hardy perennial and I don't want to keep digging and planting over her.

12 Apr, 2018

 

I wonder if there is a hardy geranium with ‘Cherry’ in the name....or what about dwarf bearded Iris ‘Cherry Garden’?

12 Apr, 2018

 

I have discounted any of the bearded iris as this bit doesn't get any direct sunshine so I reckon it wont reflower as the rhizome wont get 'baked'. I had cherry garden a few years ago and it was in partial shade and didn't reflower. the slugs got it in the end :o(

Still looking and thought about Rudbekia laciniata but it will be too dry in the summer unless the weather stays as it is.

12 Apr, 2018

 

Ah..no point then. Have you thought about a sedum?

12 Apr, 2018

 

no I hadn't CK but it is worth considering if it will cope with deep shade. heucherella and tiarella struggle under there as does tellima.

12 Apr, 2018

 

So very sorry to read about the loss of your daughter's beautiful pet.
What about planting a Hosta - there are some lovely ones available. I recently came across one called 'Harry van de Laar' which has red stems.

12 Apr, 2018

 

Oh dear its always sad to lose a pet, they become so much a part of our lives, I think its rather nice that your daughter wanted her resting place to be at home, we have many spots here belonging to our pets and they are all known by the pets name, I too was wondering about hardy geraniums, my shady bed is full of them and they all seem to thrive, some native primroses, bluebells and cowslips would probably like being under the tree and provide the spring colour...

12 Apr, 2018

 

Or just create a decorative headstone of some sort - so many ideas!

12 Apr, 2018

 

https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/20-plants-for-dry-shade/

12 Apr, 2018

 

Sorry to read about that. It's very distressing to loose a pet.

12 Apr, 2018

 

Thanks for the suggestions and links. I have looked at many lists of dry shade plants. There are lots of spring plants under the tree it is more for later in the year to add further colour. I was starting to lean towards some of the species lilies like L henryii. I will just have to do a regular lily beetle check.

I have some hardy geraniums but if I'm honest not a real favourite and apart from G macrorrhizum none have survived under the beech tree. to compound the problems the soil pH varies from 7.9 to 8.3 so alkaline on chalk. It has always been a nightmare spot.

12 Apr, 2018

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