This design pretty much sums up how I feel about flowers, and also encapsulates  much of my business philosophy.  (And there you were, thinking it was just a heart….) I completely understand that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but those who like tidiness, order and standardisation are well catered for elsewhere with a near monopoly on flowers in high streets across the land.

Everything in this wreath is biodegradable, apart from the wire used for the hanger. Every ingredient is British grown. I love the way it flows organically with wisps of birch catkins softening up the edges.  I love its wiggliness,  the relaxed feel and its natural gardeny style  – to me that is just how flowers should be.

Tuckshop Flowers Birmingham B30. Wedding flowers
April silver birch heart wreath dressed with spring flowers and foliage.

I was very much struck at a funeral I attended this week, just how little variation there was in the massed ranks of flowers which lay assembled in front of the crematorium. Dense flower studded cushions of floral foam, and letters spelling out the dearly departed were everywhere.  Flowers don’t have to be this way and floral foam is, controversially, not obligatory.

If anyone were to place the aforesaid foam letters (or heaven forbid the brown-sprayed horse’s head made of chrysanthemums) on my coffin, I might just have to spin round violently within and tip the offending articles out of the VW camper van hearse which will bear me so coolly to my final destination and cremation (the worms aren’t getting me – sorry worms, I do appreciate the job you do though).

When I pop my clogs, I’ll be happy with bunch of my daffs tied by my kids, or by flower friends arranging some the flowers and plants I’ve grown with such obsessive zeal. Even a sprig of the insidious ground elder would make me smile.  But whatever I get, I want my flowers to be me.  Messy, exuberant  and  somewhat chaotic round the edges.

Last May, as part of the Dying Matters awareness week, my friends, Fran and Carrie, at A Natural Undertaking asked everyone to say what their funeral song would be (mine would be Della Reese’s “Don’t talk about me when I’m gone”).  As Dying Matters point out, having a conversation about death and dying doesn’t make it happen, but it does make it simpler for those left behind to make choices which fit with your wishes. It’s brilliant to actually have a chat your nearest and dearest about what you’d like your final send off to be – surely those left behind have enough on their plates dealing with grief & practicalities, without having to second guess what you would have wanted?

So whether you want a natural wreath, the football shirt of your favourite team, a hand tied bouquet of your favourite flowers, or an owl with eyes made of gerberas why not let others know and start a conversation about your own funeral wishes.  After all, as my Aunty Gayle so aptly puts it

“We’re all in the queue: it’s  just that none of us know when we’re going to get to the front.”

To discuss seasonal, natural funeral flowers, wedding flowers or for local flower deliveries in Birmingham, contact me.

For more information on BrumYODO  (YODO = You Only Die Once)

Keeping flowers natural
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