Funeral Flowers
The funeral flower arrangement can be as simple or ornate as the family wishes. Some families opt for simplicity and may wish to provide bunches of fresh flowers from their own gardens, or ask others attending the funeral to bring garden flowers to place on the casket. Most of the time though, families will request something specific, whether it be colour or certain flowers which had a connection to the deceased.
The funeral flowers should reflect the personality of the deceased, e.g. a keen gardener who only grew vegetables or someone who lived on the coast would have flowers representing these interests. After talking with the funeral directors, the florist would create a fabulous centerpiece of vegetables, or perhaps a rustic coastal arrangement. Manning Funeral Cottage uses Carole Bowden Flowers, The Flower Delivery Company and Parkgate Flowers, who produce amazing arrangements for their clients, but Manning Funeral Cottage will also use a florist of the family’s choice, or alternatively, the family may source them themselves. Often families will say they want to include a note in the newspaper notice saying “no flowers please” or “in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to ….”. As an avid gardener, I say to families that the idea of a donation to a charity is great, but it is sad to deter those who may want to pick a small bunch of violets from their garden and tie them together with a piece of tinfoil as these people are not likely to make a donation a lieu of this. By all means though, mention a charity for those who would like to donate in the person’s memory.