…Chelsea Flower Show Gold for Farewell Flowers

Take some stunning blooms, a group of brilliantly bold women on a mission, and drop them into the Chelsea Flower Show… and voilà — a gold medal that proves funeral flowers don’t have to be stuck in oasis, wrapped in plastic, or flown halfway around the world.

Although I was at Chelsea on assignment, commissioned to photograph a lovely show garden by Nicola Oakey for SongBirdSurvival, I managed to grab half an hour on Sunday to head over and capture some images of the Farewell Flowers display in progress. (more images here on the gallery page).

I walked into the main marquee and saw a willow coffin—yes, a coffin—elevated over 10 feet high on beautifully decorated legs, surrounded by buckets brimming with flowers. Weaving in and out were four women working together like a perfectly choreographed floral dance team!

After grabbing some group shots of the team before they dashed off for a well-earned cuppa, it became clear I needed a better vantage point to do the display justice. Liz and Gill found me a ladder, and up I went.

The surrounding displays were still very much a work in progress: bright yellow hoses snaked across the floor, red and white hazard tape was everywhere, and hi-vis vests were the official uniform. So getting a clear shot of such a large display was, let’s say…tricky. But with the help of Liz moving things here I managed a few!

Knowing how important it was to get hero images over to Liz, who was handling the comms, I hustled back to my Airbnb at 8pm. After a quick bite, I backed up, edited, and delivered key shots for both the SongBirdSurvival garden and the Farewell Flowers display.

Let’s just say the editing setup wasn’t exactly ergonomic: a low coffee table, a beanbag (no chair—note to self: always check if your accommodation has a chair!), and me, hunched over my laptop, racing to get everything done before resting for a four-hour nap.

By 5:45am, I was traipsing my photography kit across the very ornate Chelsea Bridge, heading back to the gardens for press day. My brief? I had to stick to the SongBirdSurvival garden like glue and capture as many celebrities in the garden as I could!

The Farewell Flowers display wasn’t just beautiful—it carried an important message: to shine a spotlight on the Farewell Flowers Directory and prove that plastic-free, locally grown flowers aren’t just the greener choice for funerals… they’re also stunning.

Head over to https://www.farewellflowers.co.uk/ to learn more about their Gold Medal display and search the directory for a florist near you.

Also, don’t miss Georgie Newbery’s funny blog post about her Chelsea experience on her Substack:
https://georgienewbery.substack.com/

Team:
Gill Hodgson – Fieldhouse Flowers
Carole from Tuck Shop Flowers – Tuck Shop Flowers
Georgie Newbery – Common Farm Flowers
Nicola Hill – Gentle Blooms
Flowers supplied by – Godalming Flowers
Communications queen – Liz Anderson

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