How Floral Tributes and Funeral Flowers Help You Say a Heartfelt Goodbye

Understandably funeral flowers are not something people really want to talk about. Thinking about funerals is always a difficult subject. However, with the recent passing of the Queen, the topic of funeral flowers has been in the media spotlight. The various floral tributes to our much-loved monarch were full of hidden meanings and symbolism that added an extra significance to the flower arrangements that we all saw on display.

For many people, finding out the detail and the deep-rooted meaning placed on every flower or foliage chosen for the Queen’s funeral brought a new appreciation and understanding of the role of funeral flowers. As florists, we know that flowers are sometimes better than words and this becomes even more relevant in times of loss. From blooms that are steeped in tradition to flowers with personal meanings. From symbolic foliage to sweet-scented blooms, funeral flowers are the perfect way to help you say a most heartfelt goodbye. 

The Queen’s Flowers Depicted a Life of Love, Hope and Loss. 

The Queen’s flowers, like all funeral flowers are a celebration of a life lived. Full of symbolism, meaning and memories, each floral tribute was carefully curated to represent flowers she loved, people she loved, and the places she loved.

We saw a variety of stunning wreaths at various stages of the national mourning all with very personal floral touches. The Queen’s coffin left Balmoral Castle with a wreath beautifully adorned with sweet peas, a flower known to be one of the Queen’s favourite blooms. Sweet peas are traditionally associated with departures and goodbyes and are used in floristry as a symbol of remembrance. The sweet pea was also chosen by the Queen for Prince Philip’s funeral wreath, adding even more significance to the selection of this flower.

At the funeral, we saw a different wreath, adorned with English garden roses, hydrangeas and dahlias all cut from the gardens of places the Queen loved - Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove House. With floral colours chosen to reflect the Royal Standard (pink, white, gold and deep burgundy) plus symbolic foliage such as English oak representing strength, rosemary for remembrance and the deeply significant myrtle, a symbol of a happy marriage. It was also announced that the myrtle used in this wreath was cut from a plant that had been grown from the Queen’s wedding bouquet in 1947. It was a beautiful combination of royal tradition and personal detail that captured everyone’s hearts.

As per the wishes of King Charles III, the wreath was not only beautiful but also sustainable, avoiding the use of florist foam. Instead, the base of the wreath was made from English moss and interlocking oak branches offering a modern, eco-friendly tribute that the Queen would have certainly approved of.

Funeral Flowers Are So Much More Than Just Beautiful

Funeral floristry is incredibly humbling. We are always so honoured to be asked to design and arrange flowers to celebrate the lives of those now passed. We use carefully chosen, curated blooms to help convey feelings, memories and personal touches into thoughtful and beautiful displays filled with meaning.

And every so often there’s a story that really captures your heart.

We were approached to create a floral tribute using flowers picked from the personal garden of a landscape gardener. His garden was his absolute pride and joy and using the blooms grown so lovingly by him in the funeral design was the ultimate tribute to his talent and passion.

It was a gorgeous design to make, working with such natural, organic stems and taking note of the choices he’d made about flower placement in the garden and replicating that in the structure of the piece. This meant so much to his family.

However, we do realise that curating funeral flowers isn’t for everyone, so we have a range of carefully crafted Funeral Tributes and Sympathy Flowers that have been designed to take the stress out of this already difficult time.

Whether you want to design something bespoke, have a special request that needs a sensitive touch or want to discuss flowers for funeral wreaths, we are here to help you every step of the way.

Please don’t hesitate to get in Get in Touch or pop in store to chat to one of our florists.