When choosing flowers, the arrangement you pick should tell the same story as the relationship you had with the person. Was the deceased the love of your life? A close or distant family member? A dear friend? Here’s some tips to help you make the right floral decision.
Lilies
When someone says, “This place smells like a funeral home” chances are there is a lily nearby. This is often considered the go-to funeral flower and there’s significant meaning behind this strongly aromatic blossom. Lilies suggest that the soul of the deceased has returned to a peaceful state of innocence.
Tip: Christians think this flower symbolizes purity, virginity, and the radiance of the soul. It’s believed that the Virgin Mary’s tomb was covered in this flower.
Peace Lily Plant
Similar to the flower, the peace lily plant symbolizes innocence and rebirth of the departed’s soul from the complex physical world to a greater place.
Tip: This is nice to send to people you know who are grieving and will last for a while in the person’s home of office.
Roses
Just like lilies, roses are a very common and appropriate funeral flower, and each color rose has a slightly different connotation. White roses are the ultimate symbol of spirituality, purity, and innocence. At a funeral, the classic deep red rose evokes love and grief. The yellow rose is often given by friends to show their bond. The rarer dark pink roses are used to express thankfulness to the deceased.
Tip: Roses can be mixed in with other flowers or used in a casket spray, standing spray, or wreath.
Orchid
No matter what color, orchids have a universal meaning: “I will always love you.”
Tip: Orchid plants make particularly special gifts. Unlike orchids in an arrangement, these last longer in the home or office.
Chrysanthemums (“Mums”)
Unlike other flowers, the meaning behind chrysanthemums varies globally. In America and Europe, the meanings focus on sympathy and honor. The color plays a role in the meaning as well. Red symbolizes love, while white symbolizes innocence.
Tip: In Asia, chrysanthemums symbolize rebirth and are more often given at baby showers than funerals.
Carnations
Carnations are often used in funeral wreaths and standing sprays. As with other flowers, each of the colors has its own meaning. The red shows affection and the white tends to symbolize innocence. For Catholic and many other Christian funerals, pink carnations might be a good choice since it’s believed they were created from the Virgin Mary’s tears.
Tip: Talented florist use carnations to create beautiful arrangements replicating sports logos, favorite activities and other personalized tributes.
Hyacinth
These are mostly added into an arrangement of assorted flowers. There are a variety of thoughts behind the meaning, ranging from “you’re included in my prayers” to deep anguish.
Tip: Some believe this flower symbolizes sports, games, and rashness so be careful not to insult!
Hydrangea
The meaning behind this flower is not as well-known as the others, but many believe it symbolizes true heartfelt emotions.
Tip: As with the peace lily, the plant version of this flower will always last longer than the cut arrangement.
FAQs
White flowers are the most commonly present at funerals. This traditional color choice represents honor, peace, and innocence. Pink is considered a respectful color choice, used to express gentleness and sympathy. Red flowers symbolize love, as well as beauty and strength.
What is the most popular flower for a funeral? ›
1. Lilies – These flowers are a traditional choice for funerals, especially white ones because they represent rejuvenation of the soul and rebirth. 2. Carnations – Another common choice for expressing sympathy.
What flower symbolizes the death of a loved one? ›
The lily is the flower most commonly associated with bereavement, specifically when it's white in color. White lilies symbolize innocence, the rebirth of the soul, and purity. Additionally, the Oriental lily signifies sympathy, and the stargazer lily symbolizes eternal life.
What does a yellow rose mean at a funeral? ›
Yellow roses are given by friends of the deceased to symbolize their strong ties. When you include a single rose in a bouquet it expresses enduring love for the deceased.
What do the different colors of flowers mean? ›
Red: Red flowers, especially roses, are most often associated with romantic love and passion. They can also mean desire, strength, courage, and respect. Pink: For more playful, platonic love, go with pink flowers. They represent happiness, innocence, gentleness, and grace.
What do the 7 flowers mean? ›
7… Whether it's a new crush or familiar one, seven roses symbolize infatuation.
What flower means goodbye? ›
Known as the "golden flower," chrysanthemums are also frequently associated with retirement celebrations and farewell parties. Their vibrant colours and delicate petals make them an ideal choice for bidding adieu to a colleague or loved one and showing gratitude to the departing individual.
What flower symbolizes a broken heart? ›
The Dicentra is shaped like a heart, with a pointed bottom and a rounded top, making them look like little dangling tears. Dicentra symbolises heartbreak and the loss of a loved one. The name broken heart is derived from the heart-shaped flowers resembling a broken heart.
What flower symbolizes sadness? ›
Chrysanthemums signify funerals, grief, and death all across the world- except the US, where it's generally a joyous flower. Lilies are the most well known “flower of sadness”. However, while also being associated with funerals and deaths, they also mean the restoration of innocence to the souls of the dead.
What is the flower that is always at funerals? ›
The most traditional funeral flowers center around the lily. The lily can be a powerful symbol of the spirit of a loved one that offers hope and encouragement to a grieving family.
Purple flowers represent respect, sorrow, sympathy and admiration. Yellow flowers signify friendship, warmth and hope. Pink flowers represent grace, compassion and innocence. Green flowers signify nature, wellness and renewal.
What flower is an omen of death? ›
A Black rose is an intense shade of purple or red. This unusual rosy color is associated with death. It's easy to understand why this rose symbolizes death, as black is the color used to show that someone is sad.
Which flower represents heaven? ›
My favorite motif in art is roses. In Islam, the rose is known as the flower of heaven. They perceive roses as symbols of the human soul, so they obviously associate the beautiful scent of roses with spirituality. For this reason, this flower is often used at both weddings and funerals.
What is the flower of the afterlife? ›
Graves and death were soon associated with the red spider lily, earning it the name of 'death flower' and the even darker, 'corpse flower'. In addition to graveyards, the method of planting the poisonous lily bulbs as a form of animal control extended to riverbanks and agricultural fields like rice paddies.
What color flowers for condolences? ›
Traditionally, white is the colour of choice for most funeral and condolence flowers. In the language of flowers, white flowers represent peace, innocence and purity. This makes them a perfect fit for funerals, as well as weddings and baby showers.
How do I choose flowers for my funeral? ›
Take a look at these colours and the meanings behind them to allow you to choose the best flowers for a funeral:
- White — represents eternal love and purity.
- Yellow — signifies hope and friendship.
- Green — reflects renewal and the natural world.
- Red — symbolises love, strength and devotion.
Funeral flowers are usually not addressed to a particular loved one of the deceased but are intended, instead, as a way to pay respect to the deceased themselves. Sympathy flowers go to the home of the deceased.
What do different flowers mean on graves? ›
Tulip: confidence, affection, and enduring love. Yellow carnation or rose: friendship and gratitude. White iris: purity and faith. White carnation or rose: purity, innocence, and sympathy. Violet: devotion, faithfulness, and friendship.
