Visitors to Chelsea Flower Show break down in tears about ‘moving’ funeral display in a festival first

Chelsea Flower Show Is usually a happy opportunity that is characterized by peonies, PIMMs and many smiling faces.

But a new display this year leaves some visitors in tears.

For the first time in the 112-year history of the show there is an exhibition of the funeral flowers with a willow box, gravestones and a wire sculpture of a man and his dog.

In the neighborhood in the grass are personal flower vibrant, including hiking shoes filled with garden -like flowers, a wreath of living plants, a violin holding flowers and a boxing scheme designed to be distributed and shared with family and friends.

The center of the installation, made by the Farewell Flowers Directory team, is an arrangement of ‘vibrant, wild natural seasonal garden flowers’.

Gill Hodgson, co-founder of the company, said: ‘Funeral flowers have not changed for 50 years. The designs have not changed and they are located in floral foam that is plastic.

‘We want people to know that they have a choice.

‘Funeral flowers don’t have to look, they can be what you want them to be.

‘You can choose to celebrate and display a life with fresh, seasonal materials that are natural, beautiful and resonant with meaning.

‘And you can choose your tribute to enter light on the planet. There is no piece of plastic here – no plant pot or a cable bind. ‘

The flowers on the display are in glass jugs full of water to help them maintain their shape and structure of the design.

The team encourages people to think – possibly for the first time – what their wishes can be for their own funeral.

Among those to tear a tear on the display are florist and TV presenter Simon Lycett.

“So many people came down and cried,” said Mrs. Hodgson. ‘Simon Lycett came to crack in tears.

‘I don’t want to sound rough when I say we don’t mind crying people, but I like that people can be moved.

“It’s not that they are sad, but they are moved.”

This morning the display received a gold medal from RHS jury members -the highest distinction for garden design and version.

“We had great feedback from the jury members who said the right things about how we did exactly what we wanted to do,” said Mrs. Hodgson.

“We wanted to take funeral flowers to Chelsea, but it is in no way macabre or dark.”

The display, which is located in the Great Pavilion, is also completely sustainable and plastic -free.

The group wants to ban some used plastic from funeral arrangements, in particular plastic floral foam.

This is a kind of porous material used in the flower arranging to offer support and hydration, and is often used in flower boards such as ‘Mum’, ‘Dad’ or ‘Nan’.

“About 80 percent of the funerals are now cremations and the share goes up every year,” said Mrs. Hodgson.

‘And with a cremation the flowers are usually seen less. At a funeral you would put them on the grave, but the crematorium, those flowers are seen for about 20 minutes.

‘Then, after they have been moved outside for a few days, they are placed in the skip. And it’s there forever.

“Flower foam was invented in 1954 and there is still still the fact that it has still been made.”

The groundbreaking installation is sponsored by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM).

Mathew Crawley, Chief Executive of the ICCM said: ‘The farewell flowers directory champion A simple but transforming idea: funeral flowers can be personal, beautiful and environmentally friendly.

“This exhibition is more than just a showcase of flowers – it is a statement that sadness, memory and sustainability can exist in harmony together.”