Flowers are a great and loving way to send a loved one off and have a little keepsake for you to remember the day.
We here at Australian Funerals & Cremations believe that Flowers are wonderful and have a place in funerals, so much, so we have a long and wonderful relationship with one of Melbourne's best florists. Having said that, with some funerals, there are great alternatives.
What people don't know about flowers and funerals is sad in a way. We tell all of our clients that if you have a cremation, most people assume that the flowers are taken and cremated with their loved one and will remain a part of their loved one forever. This is unfortunately not true, all flowers that go to the crematorium are made into compost and spread among the cemetery's grounds if not just put in the bin. We find that when we tell most people, they either opt for other options or they want the flowers to be collected and taken back to their home.
We always have people asking for alternatives to flowers as they feel that flowers are beautiful, however as stated before wilt and die. Furthermore, we agree with this and throughout our 10+ years in the industry have come up with a few handy flower alternatives.
Plants
Our personal favourite: Plants.
Although it's a succulent pictured, our personal favourite plants to give are Australian natives. We find that these are tough, resilient and simply beautiful.
James' Favourite
The Banksia menziesii
One of Australia's most known flowers, and with good reason.
Birds love them, require limited watering, and they fill up 1-2 m area in your garden.
Wendy's Favourite
The Grevillia Pink Surprise
A little hard to find at times from the nurseries, but well worth it if you can find one. Perfect way to attract bees and birds to your yard to help pollinate all your other flowers. Shrub style plant, easily trimmed and trained.
Andrew's Favourite
Lemon Myrtle
The Main reason (I believe) Andrew loves the lemon myrtle is that he uses it in one of his favourite chicken dishes. The lemon myrtle is a small shrub that produces a beautiful flower and it's leaves can be dried and used in cooking for its strong citrus taste.
Plants are a great way to remember a loved one and honour a loved one's memory. If you're thinking along the plant way of things, rose bushes and trees are also a great way to remember a loved one. Trees especially are good because you can admire their growth and a touching way to introduce new family members to loved ones which have passed.
Donations
When a loved one passes away who has been suffering from a disease, a number of families have wanted donations to the charity pertaining to the disease their loved one has passed away from. The most common one we have encountered is the Cancer Council, Beyond Blue and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
By donating to these charities, hopefully one day many of the mortal diseases can be cured.
Candles
A trend that has started recently is buying or even making candles for loved ones or the family of those who have lost a loved one. They make for beautiful accompaniments to a service or are a cherished memento to have in the house.
Photos and Mementos
An excellent way to remember someone is to get out all the photos, videos and other little things that have a link to the loved one who has passed away.
All of these things and more are possible in any funeral, and here at Australian Funerals & Cremations have done them and seen them in the funerals we have done in the past. Check out our services provided page here