Farewell Flowers Directory Wins RHS Gold at Chelsea Flower Show
Image: The Farewell Flowers Directory
The Farewell Flowers Directory has made history at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show by winning an RHS Gold medal-the first ever awarded to a display of sustainable funeral flowers in the show's 112-year history.
Queen Camilla visited the groundbreaking exhibit on Press Day and spoke with Gill Hodgson, Co-Founder of the not-for-profit organisation, which champions personalised funeral tributes and aims to eliminate plastic floral foam and single-use plastics from funeral floristry.
The award-winning display features towering stems of British-grown flowers erupting from a willow coffin and cascading into a grassy graveyard scene. A wirework sculpture of a man and his dog, crafted by artist Susan Nichols, looks on. Among the gravestones are a pair of walking boots filled with garden-style blooms, a wreath made of living plants, a violin created from flowers, and a basket of posies designed to be divided and shared with loved ones.
Carole Patilla, Co-founder of The Farewell Flowers Directory, said: "We're so delighted that we did the thing people told us we couldn't do: we took funeral flowers and a coffin to RHS Chelsea and won Gold! Our display shows that flowers, thoughtfully and sustainably designed, can move people; they can reflect and celebrate a life; and they can tread lightly on the planet. We hope that our Gold medal exhibit will raise awareness of sustainable funeral flowers and help bring about change in the industry."
The Farewell Flowers Directory aims to open conversations and encourage people to reflect on their own funeral wishes. During Press Day, Alan Titchmarsh was among the visitors who wrote his thoughts on colourful tags that read "I'd like my funeral to be..." and tied them to the perimeter of the exhibit. Visitors throughout the week were also invited to contribute messages.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), Green Funeral Flowers Online Course by Tuckshop Flowers, New Covent Garden Flower Market, and Workplace Bereavement.
The creative team behind the display includes Gill Hodgson MBE of Fieldhouse Flowers in Yorkshire, Carole Patilla of Tuckshop Flowers in Birmingham, Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers in Somerset, and Nicola Hill of Gentle Blooms in Warwickshire. They are joined during Chelsea week by other funeral florists listed on the Directory. The flowers and foliage used in the display were sourced from artisan cut flower growers across the UK, including Godalming Flowers in Surrey, the closest supplier to the show.
About The Farewell Flowers Directory
The Farewell Flowers Directory is a not-for-profit initiative launched in May 2024 by florists and flower farmers Gill Hodgson MBE and Carole Patilla. It connects people with over 190 independent florists across the UK who offer beautiful, personal, and plastic-free funeral flowers.
The organisation is committed to eliminating plastic floral foam-a material invented in the 1950s and widely used in traditional floristry. This single-use plastic cannot be recycled and does not biodegrade; instead, it breaks down into microplastics that pollute soil and waterways.