Helen Costello
- Jun 11, 2020
- 2 min read

The History of Funerals Flowers

Updated: May 31, 2022

As a florist the making of funeral floral tributes, is one of the most rewarding parts of being a florist. This is a chance to give back to society, to help families and friends to give a last gift, to their loved ones, thus helping them expressing feelings and thoughts that can not be put into words.

The tradition of the funeral tribute goes back to ancient times. Archaeologists have found evidence dating back to 60,000 years BC, where flowers fragments had surrounded graves. This was thought to be a burial ritual or ceremony, one of the most well known ancient burial sites was found in 1950’s, by Dr Ralph Solanki, in the Shanidar caves in Northern Iraq, said to be dated 62,000 years ago.

The traditional wreath originated from ancient Greece; its round shape symbolized eternal life. The ancient Greeks would decorate the wreath with evergreens, this symbolized eternal strength, this was due to the resilience of the evergreens, especially in the winter months.

Today floral tributes come in all shapes and sizes, from beautiful double ended sprays to cats,, flags, tractors etc. florist's today are fortunate to have many varieties of blooms at their disposal. The range of colours and textures is huge, allowing them the artistic freedom to create wonderful tributes, however I love to uses seasonal flowers and foliage whenever possible along with being as sustainable as possible.

When I design anything, I like to put a personal aspect into each arrangement, making a thoughtful and special design, this is especially important with funeral work. Coming from a close family myself, I know how important this is as it is the final gift to give.