What happens to flowers after a funeral?
by Gill Hodgson, Fieldhouse Flowers, Yorkshire.
Why not give funeral flowers an afterlife by opting for shareable arrangements which you can also use to gift or to decorate the wake?
If you’ve spent time carefully choosing the right flowers for the funeral, it’s natural that you’re wondering what happens to those flowers afterwards.
If the flowers were ordered for a burial, it’s straightforward. You’ll see the arrangements sitting on top of the coffin as the hearse arrives at the ceremony and they’ll usually stay there throughout the service. Afterwards they’ll stay on top of the coffin until lifted off by the funeral director at the graveside and then they’ll be placed on top of the earth after the grave has been filled in. Mourners will normally have left the site before this happens and will need to return later to see the flowers in situ.
Cremations are different and this is where your choice of flowers will make a big difference.
In all cases, the flowers which are placed on top of the coffin will be carried into the crematorium and laid on the raised platform at the front of the room (the catafalque) during the service. Few people now choose to have the curtains drawn at the end of the service and many people prefer to leave the room with the coffin and flowers still in view, perhaps patting the top as they pass – seeing this as a gentler way of taking leave of a loved one.
When you leave the ceremony room, all the flowers will be removed by crematorium staff and quickly transferred to the viewing area for tributes, usually on the floor outside the main exit of the building, although some religions require the flowers to be burned with the body – in these situations, the crematorium staff will remove them from any floral foam that holds them and lay them on the coffin. Plastic floral foam can’t be burnt as it melts and sticks ashes together.
‘Traditional’ floral tributes often take the form of letters, on bases of floral foam, spelling out a word or name. My own local funeral director points out to families just how little they’ll actually see of these arrangements at the crematorium: letters stand too high to be placed upright on top of the coffin so instead sit alongside it in the hearse . They are not usually taken out for the service so they’ll only be seen by people waiting outside the building as the hearse draws up and not by those already seated inside.
The floral letters are usually deposited directly in the viewing area but as mourners are often busy greeting and consoling one another on leaving the service, they may be overlooked completely.
If left behind by friends and family, funeral flowers will usually remain on the floor in the viewing area at the crematorium and, if unclaimed 5 days later, will be disposed of by staff.
If your funeral flowers are made in a way that allows them to be shared (ie made up of combined individual bouquets, or made in sections) you’ll be able to see more of the flowers and enjoy them for longer. With shareable arrangements, the funeral director will help you separate your arrangement into bouquets or parts either outside the crematorium or at the wake. It’s lovely to be able to give the flowers an afterlife by using them to decorate the room and re-using them in this way can provide a welcome talking point. After the wake, these more domestic scale bunches and bouquets can be used again to gift to friends and relatives as a final parting gesture.
If you’re looking for funeral flowers with an afterlife, find a Farewell Flowers Directory florist near you. Many different styles of shareable farewell designs have been inspired by conversations so don’t be afraid to discuss ideas with your chosen funeral florist.
A shareable funeral flower arrangement made with a natural garden-gathered feel. By Tuckshop Flowers, Birmingham.
