Breaking new ground with the first ever funeral flowers exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025
The Farewell Flowers Directory takes plastic-free funeral flowers to RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May. This shot from the directory’s late spring photoshoot features a vegetable arrangement by Tuckshop Flowers, and flower-filled work boots by Gate House Florals. Image: Andrea Gilpin Photography.
We’re delighted to announce an historic first for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show as we stage the first ever funeral flowers display to be seen in the heart of the famous Grand Pavilion. Our creative display will show that you don’t need to sacrifice beauty for sustainability and will feature exclusively British-grown cut flowers and foliage, arranged without the use of either plastic floral foam or single-use plastic.
Gill Hodgson, Co-founder of The Farewell Flowers Directory, says:
“Funeral flowers don’t have to look funereal - they can be anything you want them to be. We hope that our Chelsea exhibit will help to start conversations and will let people know that they have a choice. You can choose to celebrate and reflect a life with fresh, seasonal materials that are natural, beautiful and resonant with meaning. And you can choose for your tributes to tread lightly on the planet.”
The theme of our exhibit
Our showpiece installation will take the form of an artistic interpretation of a funeral scene, with a centrepiece of a soaring, vibrant arrangement bursting from a beautiful woven willow coffin in a joyous celebration of seasonal flowers. Nestled in the grass, alongside gravestones will be personalised funeral flower tributes such as walking boots filled with fresh flowers, casket sprays and other arrangements designed to be divided and shared between family and friends. Watching on will be the seated wirework forms of a man and his dog, designed by the artist Susan Nichols.
All the arrangements on display will be made using sustainable floristry techniques and without the use of any plastic or floral foam.
Our florist team
Our Chelsea team: L to R - Georgie Newbery, Nicola Hill, Gill Hodgson and Carole Patilla
Our floristry and planning team is made up of directory co-founders Gill Hodgson and Carole Patilla, alongside Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers and Nicola Hill of Gentle Blooms. They’ll be supported during the show at Chelsea by a team of florist volunteers who’ll be on hand to share their passion for plastic-free funeral flowers and to explain more about how we work to interested show visitors.
Carole Patilla says:
“As funeral florists, we know that personalised and thoughtful funeral flowers make a difference because people write, call and even pop by to thank us. They often say how the beauty of the flowers provides a point of beauty to focus on, gets people talking and makes the experience of funerals a tiny bit bit easier.
The Farewell Flowers Directory wants to use the platform of RHS Chelsea Flowers Show to bring these important final farewell flowers into the spotlight, and to help everyone understand that they don’t have to leave a legacy of waste behind for generations to come. Funeral flowers can be made in gentler and more sustainable ways.”
Sponsorship and support
Committing to RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a serious financial undertaking and we are grateful for the generous sponsorship of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) and Green Funeral Flowers by Tuckshop Flowers. We are still looking for additional sponsorship partners and would love to have these in place before the end of March.
If you are interested in more information about partnership opportunities as a key sponsor or in simply supporting us with a donation, please see more information here.