We’ll help you to find natural funeral flowers with a softer, wilder feel that are as individual as the people they’re made for.
A beautifully informal spring casket spray with hellebores, ranunculus and catkins by Gabriel's Garden, Norfolk.
Funeral flowers don’t have to be shapes, letters or pictorial tributes – they can be anything you want them to be – from well-loved gardening boots filled with flowers, to wild arrangements inspired by country walks and anything in between. Take a look at our gallery to see funeral flowers inspired by nature.
Use our ‘Find Flowers’ page and choose ‘Funeral Flowers’ from the drop down menu. Enter your location in the search box and find Flowers from the Farm members near you who can help with funeral flowers.
The language around funeral flowers can be confusing, so here we explain the meaning of common words used describe arrangement styles. Don’t feel, however, that you have to choose any of these traditional formats – funeral flowers can be anything you want them to be.
An arrangement which sits on top of the coffin. Available in different sizes and often termed ‘double ended’ or ‘single ended’. Double ended tapers to a point at both ends, whereas single ended has a straighter edge at the head end, tapering to a point towards the foot. It’s often chosen as the main arrangement.
Usually an open centred ring or sometimes an open centred heart. These can be fully decorated, or garlanded to cover only part of a decorative base. Natural wreath bases can be woven willow or twiggy bases, or frames covered in moss. Can be the main flowers or used as additional arrangements for a funeral.
A tied sheaf is a beautifully simple form of funeral flowers. Like a large flat-backed bouquet, a sheaf is made to lie on top of the coffin and can be used instead of a casket spray or wreath. Can be used as the main flowers or as an additional arrangement for funerals.
Posy can mean different things, so check with your chosen florist. A ‘posy pad’ is a round dish (usually of floral foam) filled with flowers. Posies can also be small tied bunches of flowers which can be attached to the sides of the coffin or placed on it as small tributes as part of the ceremony. Can also be used to decorate the wake, placed in small jars or vases.
A garland can be made of foliage, flowers or a mix of both and is wrapped around the coffin. It isn’t possible to weave flowers through willow or rattan coffins so garlands are a practical way to add flowers to the sides. Check with your undertaker if you’re not sure how the garland might be added to your chosen type of coffin and they will be able to advise you.
Swags are small ‘bars’ of flowers which can be attached to the sides and ends of the coffin and are an alternative to decorating it using a garland all the way round. You can attach swags either in the areas between the handles, or on the ends of the coffin, or both, depending how flowery you want it to be.
See our directory listing to find Flowers from the Farm members offering funeral floristry services near you.