When you’re planning a funeral amongst the decisions to make and things to plan, you will need to make arrangements for flowers. You may opt for a selection of your loved ones favourite flowers. However, they may not have had favourites or you may not know what their favourites were. Aside from looking beautiful, flowers have a bigger impact on the day than you may initially think. They offer a calming focal point to look at during the service when other surroundings may cause additional upset. Each type of flower holds a lot of meaning and there are lots of options to choose from depending on the message you want to portrait. In this blog, find out more about popular funeral flower options and the meaning behind them.

Popular Choices of Funeral Flowers and What They Mean

Lillies

Lillies are beautiful trumpet shaped flowers, with a name that comes from Greek origin. They come in a wide range of colours and have many meanings. When incorporated into funeral arrangements lilies represent love, grief and rebirth. The idea of rebirth is very reassuring to think of your loved ones being reborn into a new life following this one.

Carnations

Carnations are one of the oldest cultivated flowers in the world with a history that dates back thousands of years. Their elegance has really stood the test of time as they remain to be popular to this day. White carnations symbolise pure love, purity and simplicity, making them perfect for funeral displays, however they are also available in many other colours.

Roses

Roses are a classic flower, widely used and loved in floral displays. Each colour and variety of rose holds a very deep meaning and can be bought and given for all types of occasions. Each colour of rose tells it’s own story but briefly white roses represent new beginnings, yellow roses represent friendship and peach roses show sincerity and gratitude. Choosing a colour that captures how you feel about your loved one and creating an arrangement around that colour is a perfect way to honour the deceased.

Peonies

Peonies originate from China, they then made their way to Japan and beyond. In Chinese culture peonies have been named the “king of flowers”. Peonies came over to Europe in the late 1800’s and their voluminous petal heads have been popular ever since. Purple peonies display admiration and respect, while white peonies represent new beginnings.

Forget-Me-Nots

These dainty pale blue flowers hold lots of meaning to a lot of people, especially when it comes to funerals and remembering someone special to them. The name of these flowers tells you everything you need to know, they’re a key symbol of remembrance. A flower that hold a promise to never forget the person associated with it.

Consider Incorporating Seasonal

If you’re stuck for ideas and unsure which flowers to choose, a good place to start can be to look at which flowers are in season at the time. Florists will also be able to advise on this. Choosing seasonal flowers ensure your displays will look as good as they possibly can, last longer and in some cases can be cheaper as buying out of season flowers have to be bought in from further afield. See below a few examples of when which flowers are in season:

Spring: Tulips, Forget-Me-Nots Daffodils

Summer: Roses, Hydrangeas, Peonies

Autumn: Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, Sunflowers

Winter: Narcissus, Snowdrops, Ivy

Friends and Family Contributions to Funeral Flowers

Usually the person or immediate family organising the funeral are responsible for arranging the flowers that sit on top of the coffin, which is called a spray. In some cases the family will state that these will be the only flowers for the funeral. However, in any other circumstances extended family or friends are invited to organise their own floral arrangement or wreath to accompany the spray. The options are endless when it comes to floral tributes, from spelling out the relationship in flowers such as Nan or Dad to a football club logo or anything relating to that persons favourite things.

How We Can Help

We work with and recommend reliable and trusted local florists to ensure exquisite flower displays that are a celebration of the person being remembered.

Get in touch if you’d like assistance with this.