A floristry team will make history at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show with the first ever display to showcase funeral floristry.
Funeral flowers make up a significant proportion of the British floral industry, but this will be the first time they have been recognised with their own work at the world-renowned floral exhibition in London.
New Covent Garden Market, the UK's largest and leading wholesale market, is sponsoring with The Farewell Flowers Directory to stage the display using exclusively British-grown flowers.
New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is at the heart of the floristry industry in London and the South-East, supplying the majority of independent florists, from high street retailers to high-end event companies.
The Market's customers range from Royal palaces, to shops, market stalls, hotels, offices, parties, homes, and wedding and funeral organisers.
The historical display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will feature an artistic interpretation of a funeral scene, with an arrangement of vibrant seasonal flowers and foliage bursting from an open willow coffin.
The coffin will be held aloft by white birch pallbearers, with wirework figures created by artist Susan Nichols, including a man and his dog, watching over the scene.
Nearby, a collection of personal tributes will be nestled in the grass: walking boots filled with fresh flowers, casket sprays, wreaths, and designs that can be shared among family and friends.
The exhibit, set in the heart of the Great Pavilion, will shine a spotlight on compostable, foam-free funeral flowers, demonstrating that beauty and sustainability can go hand in hand - even at life's most difficult moments.
All arrangements will be made using sustainable floristry techniques, entirely free of floral foam and single-use plastic.
The Farewell Flowers Directory is a not-for-profit organisation that connects people with independent florists creating personal, compostable funeral tributes. Its Co-founder Gill Hodgson MBE said: "Funeral flowers don't have to look funereal; they can be anything you want them to be. We hope our Chelsea exhibit will help start conversations and let people know that they have a choice — to honour a life using natural, beautiful materials that reflect the seasons and the person. And to do so in a way that's kind to the planet."
The Farewell Flowers Directory is a not-for-profit organisation that connects people with independent florists creating personal, compostable funeral tributes. Its Co-founder Gill Hodgson MBE said: "Funeral flowers don't have to look funereal; they can be anything you want them to be. We hope our Chelsea exhibit will help start conversations and let people know that they have a choice — to honour a life using natural, beautiful materials that reflect the seasons and the person. And to do so in a way that's kind to the planet."
For more information:
The Farewell Flowers Directory
www.farewellflowers.co.uk
New Covent Garden Market