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Funeral flowers on stage for the first time at RHS Chelsea

Death is still shrouded in taboo and funeral flowers are no exception, but the Farewell Flowers Directory wants to change the narrative at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. Its display aims to bring funeral flowers out of the shadows and make the industry plastic-free.

Every year, the equivalent of six Olympic-size swimming pools could be filled with the amount of foam discarded in UK crematoriums from funeral flower arrangements. Carole Patilla and Gill Hodgson MBE, founders of the Farewell Flowers Directory, are campaigning at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 to remove plastic from funeral flower decorations and change the narrative around funeral flowers, bringing them to the show for the first time ever.

Bringing funeral flowers out of the shadows

Gill Hodgson and Carole Patilla, founders of the Farewell Flowers Directory
The Farewell Flowers Directory is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to eliminate plastic floral foam from funeral floristry. Founded in 2024, its online listing service connects people to independent florists who offer fully compostable funeral flowers and currently includes 190 member florists across the UK. In a historic first for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the directory will stage an exhibit of funeral floristry in the Great Pavilion.

The creative display demonstrates that beauty doesn’t have to be sacrificed for sustainability. It will feature exclusively British-grown cut flowers and foliage and will be entirely free of plastic floral foam and single-use plastic.

Funeral flowers need somebody to advocate for them. There’s no reason why we can’t celebrate the beauty of this kind of floristry.

Carole Patilla, co-founder of the Farewell Flowers Directory
“This is an area of floristry that really needs to change. When I talk to people about making funeral flowers more eco-friendly, they say, ‘All flowers are compostable.’ They don’t realise that what’s supporting them underneath is all waste,” said Carole Patilla, who started her Birmingham-based floristry business Tuckshop Flowers in 2012 after 20 years working as a primary teacher.

“Funeral flowers need somebody to advocate for them. People feel uncomfortable because death is such a taboo in our society, and even florists often hide this service from their websites. But there’s nothing threatening or depressing about them. They are just lovely flowers – no different from the ones used for weddings. That’s why we’re taking funeral flowers to RHS Chelsea: there’s no reason why we can’t celebrate the beauty of this kind of floristry.”
 

A plastic-free future for funeral floristry

Wirework forms of a man and his dog sitting on a bench
Wirework forms of a man and his dog sitting on a bench
A heart made of cornflowers
Funeral flower tributes nestled in the grass beside a gravestone
Floral foam is a mainstay in funeral floristry. It’s the structural support in picture, name and shaped arrangements. To avoid waste, a solution is to create casket sprays made up of bouquets wrapped in special hydrating paper, which can be separated after the funeral so people can take the flowers home and give them new meaning. For her arrangements, Carole also takes cuttings from the loved one’s garden – an eco-friendly choice and a way to learn from the family what the person loved.

The idea of the Farewell Flowers Directory came from Gill Hodgson MBE, owner of Fieldhouse Flowers in Yorkshire. The project was officially launched in May 2024 and within one year, 190 British businesses have already joined.

The directory is set up as a listing service where florists can register, making it easy for anyone looking for eco-friendly funeral flowers arrangements to find a business local to them. To join, businesses must offer at least one fully compostable arrangement that include British-grown elements, and they must highlight the funeral flowers service on their website.

“We’ve got a massive mountain to climb, but it takes just a few people with an idea and some energy to make the difference,” Carole said. “A little enthusiasm goes a long way, and I think this topic is already creeping into public awareness more.”

The first funeral scene at RHS Chelsea

Wildly natural seasonal garden flowers and foliage burst out of an open willow coffin
The RHS Chelsea installation by the Farewell Flowers Directory – sponsored by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and Green Funeral Flowers by Tuckshop Flowers – takes the form of an artistic interpretation of a funeral scene. Its centrepiece will be a soaring arrangement of vibrant, wildly natural seasonal garden flowers and foliage, appearing to burst out of an open willow coffin held aloft on white birch pallbearers. Watching on will be the wirework forms of a man and his dog, created by artist Susan Nichols.

Nestled nearby in the grass among the gravestones will be personal funeral flower tributes, from walking boots filled with fresh flowers to casket sprays, wreaths and arrangements designed to be divided and shared with family and friends. All the arrangements on display will be made using sustainable floristry techniques, free of plastic floral foam and single-use plastic and fully compostable.
 
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