How to create a sheaf of flowers for a funeral. (2023)

Introduction

Join flower farmer and florist Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers is Somerset as she cuts, conditions and creates a stunning sheaf of autumnal flowers and foliage for a funeral. A sister piece to the clip she made inspired by the Queen’s beautiful natural wreaths, this clip focuses on foam free mechanics and creating a piece of ephemeral art ready at the end of its work for the compost heap. No wire, no floral foam, just flowers and foliage cut straight from the garden.

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Content

Good morning all well, it's the feeling a bit the morning after the Night, Before Our, dear Queen, was buried yesterday and wasn't the wreath on her coffee in the most beautiful thing, all fresh from the garden proper, real alive flowers, no floral foam, simple biodegradable biodegradable mechanics.

It can all go on the compost heap straight to it afterwards, fantastic.

If you'd like to know how to make a wreath like that, then I made a clip a couple of Clips ago, so ping back I think it's called the queen inspired wreath, or something like that today, I'm making more funeral flowers and I thought you might like to come along this time, I'm going to make a Sheaf.

So it's a flat Sheaf to lay on a cop in it's another way of making completely biodegradable flowers.

No, nothing that wouldn't rot down quickly on a compost heap very, very beautiful light.

So come along with me and I'll cut and create a lovely sheath for a coffin, and if ever you're asked to make something similar, then perhaps this is another way of making lovely flowers for a tribute right on.

We go I'm going to start with some amaranthus look.

You can see how I've been cutting it hard, but it's still coming back, who am I to argue I'm gonna have some of these.

Let's make a start if you're making a Sheaf for a coffin.

What you're looking for is some length, and so these are out for good and strong and they're going to provide a backbone for what I'm going to make to lay on the coffin.

The colors I've been asked for are rich dual colors um.

So please don't at me for not using funeral colors I really believe very strongly that funeral flowers should be anything but funeral they are.

They are all about the story of life from start to finish anyway.

There's a start and we're gonna have some color very light.

The cream.

The crab apples have been astonishing this year and imagine how lovely these will be laid flat in the arrangements.

Heaven.

Heaven I think it's very important with funeral flowers that you have interest.

This is what people are looking at.

Well, the service is going on and so I'm keeping an eye out for interesting extras, and this cornice wild cornice is has lovely berries on it and is a really beautiful, dark purple color.

So we're definitely having some of this.

Whatever the flowers are, that you're arranging it's always worth checking the Hedge this world cornice is just in a hedge and it's not a flower bed.

Foliage fancy Posh thing, it's just something that I've got in the Hedge, so I'm going to cut it because it's lovely for a funeral, it's lovely for a wedding.

It's love for a bouquet, always check the Hedge and look at the berries on the spindle.

This is really bog standard.

You almost you're a pair which is the spindle tree and at this time of year it has wonderful berries.

So we'll have some of those.

Now for the flowers for the wreath.

The Sheaf I've been specifically asked for pinks and purples, so who am I to argue if it's good enough for the queen, it's good enough for everybody, the queen had Oak for strength, and so will my client or other my clients family member right.

There we have it penstemons hydrangea cornice, wild and coolness variegated Oak amaranthus roses around here: bright, pink roses.

Just like the queen I'm getting caught up on my arrangement, uh roses, dahlias spindle little tiny bit there of Asta some Cooling bracket glasses.

All I have to do is cut some.

What are they called Rosemary and the Rosemary can then just it can all be put together and have a nice long drink before I make the arrangement this afternoon.

So I brought everything into the studio made sure that the tips of everybody's feet are in water well, more than that, so that they can have a nice drink and then, when they've had a couple of hours so that the water is nice and high in their necks, I will make the sheath for tomorrow right.

It's two o'clock in the afternoon and my lovely material has had a couple of hours, uh more than that, but four hours having a good old drink, I'm now gonna make the sheath it will stay in water, so I will pack it up for my client who's going to pick it up a hobbus three in such a way that it can stay in water overnight.

So there's no reservoir for when it's on the coffin, but until tomorrow it will have an overnight in water so that when it's taken out of water and laid on the coffin, all the flowers will be up to their neck and water and stay looking lovely and fresh all day, um and the way I'm going to make it it's going to be three bouquets tied together, which means that afterwards, if they would like my client can either leave the flowers at the graveside or, as is often the case, if the funeral is takes place at a crematorium, then after the event the flowers can be taken away and split into three.

They can become bouquets to dress the wake or be given and or be given to people to take home with them afterwards, and then they can behave like an ordinary bouquet for a week or more anyway.

Let's see how it looks as I make it so.

Here's the first section and I've tied it just as an ordinary hand tie, but you can see that there's lovely interest for lying on the coffin there's plenty to look at lovely bits to hang over the sides.

Lots of color and for this part, the first of the three bouquets I'm I've made.

The point of the exercise is height.

So this is very tall.

I'll show you when it's it's hard to see to get an idea, um, but look there's my hand.

So you can see it's really quite long and while I make the other sections, I put this in water in a vars so that it can just keep having a little drink.

And here is the second part and I've, given it the roses and a bit more color at the front, because this is going to show on top when it's laid added to the other material which is underneath so I'll show you see if this makes sense to you.

Here's the original one I did with a broom handle in the way, never go anywhere in my studio without a broom and if I take the original one out when I put them together, they're going to be tied together, it's really hard to say, then you get this enormous mix, but that's only two I now need to make the third part and when they're all tied together, it will make a beautiful, very, very beautiful thing to lay flat on the coffee.

Look very like the queen with pink roses.

Oh it's quite physically.

It's quite hard work.

It does make it to be able to turn new guys off.

I'll turn you off for a minute.

I'll make the third part and I'll show you what it looks like all together, but coming together nicely while I'm making it I'm putting it in a bucket.

It was too big for the balls we'll get there, and so this is the third bouquet which you can see.

This is this material is going to be the side, so it'll show on the side, and then these big dahlias will be on the top.

They won't show someone what people see is what's going on underneath and around the side, because the coffin is high up and at sort of this level, imagine being one of those tall shoulders carrying the queen.

So it's important to keep interesting material going around the edges anyway.

That's the third bouquet, so I'm going to tie it up.

I'll turn them all together.

Lay it out and you'll see what it looks like.

Hopefully, it'll inspire you to have a go or think again about funeral flowers.

I, just I tie my bouquets really simply with um raffia.

It's not fancy pants.

What I, don't like doing is laying them down to tie them up, especially if the materials in any way damp, because it's quite bruising and I know this bouquet is going to be laid on top of the coffin, but um I still don't want to lay it down until I've made the whole thing um, so I, you know, Raffia doesn't Russia, doesn't stretch and it doesn't bruise, which is why I like it and it's 100 biodegradable like me right so here it is in its full Glory falling over the bucket.

If I lay it down, I will show it to you close up.

It's about it's about, 75 stems they're, all quite big stems.

It should have masses of Interest the whole point of a funeral, any any kind of flowers that go anywhere near or on a coffin for a funeral.

Their job is to give you an idea of how beautiful life is.

So the job is to have color symbolism, so we've got oak, leaves for strength, Rosemary for remembrance, always Rosemary and funeral work.

We've got color, which is sort of inspiring and lifts the spirits.

We've got berries, and hopefully this will blend with the colors of the garden.

I was told by the client what the colors of the garden that the person who's died came from and they loved their Garden.

Most of my funeral work comes when people who have very much loved their Gardens die because then they can have golden flowers, I'll turn it around the other way, and then you can see it again.

So this is what it'll look like from the side on the coffin and then, if you go around the end, here is lots of Interest lots of color, very seasonal, very fresh, and it is really at the end of the day, nothing more than a simple hand, tie and I'm going to put it back in its bucket of water, because my client is collecting it and it's for tomorrow morning and I'm going to just let it have a bucket of water to sit on overnight and it'll be fresh for tomorrow, even though I say it myself.

I'm quite pleased with this now I have to photograph it as well challenging, and here is the arrangement in a bucket, and this is how it's going to be delivered.

Luckily, I know the client quite well and I, don't anticipate that they will cry and wail because they don't like the bucket um.

It's the best way for these stems to have a reservoir of water overnight, so that tomorrow, there'll be fresh fresh when they're laid on the coffin, I have to say I do love the combination.

It is very autumnal I'm, sorry, the bucket is ugly, but that is very pretty and will look lovely on the coffin tomorrow.

So thank you very much for joining me.

Uh.

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