There is nothing more human than wanting to do as much as you can to comfort someone who has recently received bad news or lost a loved one. Sympathy flowers have long been a popular way to convey your condolences to a loved one grieving a personal loss. Flowers demonstrate deep love and meaning in a way that is sometimes better than words alone. They also regulate emotions and help the grieving person feel better with their freshness and fragrance.
Depending on the location and culture of the service, funeral or sympathy flowers can have different meanings. Each flower has a distinct way of conveying emotions where words might fail. While all colors of a flower express their general meaning with or without context, it is important for you to know how different flowers serve varying purposes in what would seem to be an ordinary bouquet. Here are some of the most popular flowers that represent sympathy.
Rose
Inarguably one of the most popular types of flowers in the world, roses come in a wide range of colors, with each color conveying a different meaning. White roses make the perfect addition to a bouquet of sympathy flowers because they represent purity, innocence, and sincerity of emotions. Likewise, peach, and pink roses are used to convey gratitude to loved ones, whereas yellow roses are a subtle yet powerful expression of friendship and support. All the light-colored, gentle roses make perfect additions to a bunch of sympathy flowers sent to a grieving family.
Lily
Lilies are a touching symbol of rebirth that provides support, comfort, and hope to a grieving person or family. The idea of renewal gels perfectly with faith-based funeral services, and the white color of lilies is symbolic of the deceased’s spirit being at peace with the universe. White lilies also convey innocence and purity, a quality that makes them ideal sympathy flowers for the funeral of a person who has died in their youth.
Carnation
Carnations are a symbol of selfless love that can be added to any sympathy flower arrangement to express affection and warmth for the deceased and their grieving loved ones. Carnations are dense, colorful flowers that can be added to sympathy floral arrangements to support other flowers like lilies, roses, daisies, and chrysanthemums. These flowers also make a great symbol of adoration to honor a person who was a great mother to their children since they are conventionally gifted on Mother’s Day.
Hyacinth
Sometimes, all a grieving family needs is a gesture that subtly conveys your love and support and reminds them of your presence in their hard times. Purple hyacinths have been used as a symbol of grief, a sentiment that is appropriate on occasions that call for sympathy flower arrangements. Hyacinths express your presence with the family, awareness of their sorrow, and concern for their welfare.
Chrysanthemum
Around the world, chrysanthemums have various symbolic connotations depending on the location and local culture. For instance, these flowers are used to express emotional support in the United States, whereas in some European cultures, they are a symbol of death and used to portray grief and mourning for a personal loss. With the right color, it is possible to fuse both meanings to convey sympathy and support in a challenging time. Chrysanthemums can be used on their own or combined with other flowers in a sympathy bouquet.
Gladiolus
Gladiolus is a powerful symbol of integrity, strength, and perseverance. These flowers express support for the emotional journey of a grieving loved one and remind them of how they can elicit their inner strength to help power them through their journey of grief. Gladiolus conveys acknowledgment of the pain of losing a loved one effectively and serves as an encouraging reminder to a person of their endurance.
Forget-Me-Not
Myosotis, better known by the popular name ‘forget-me-not,’ is a symbol of remembrance and celebration of the memories you shared with the deceased. Instead of repressing your emotions at a time that calls for open expression of your love and grief over your loss, these flowers serve as a powerful reminder that even though your loved one has departed, they will forever remain alive in your memories. These flowers encourage a focus on the positive qualities of the deceased and allow their family to share their favorite memories and anecdotes from their lives.
Sunflower
Sunflower is an emblem of loyalty and adoration and the perfect addition to a bouquet of sympathy flowers to elevate the mood of your loved one. These flowers capture unyielding love for a person and serve as a reminder of how a person must turn their face towards the sun and let the shadows fall behind them. The persistence and devotion conveyed by sunflowers can be a humbling expression of love in a difficult time and help them on their journey to grieve their loss.
Etiquette Guidelines
Besides the appropriate choice of flowers, it is important to keep in mind a few etiquettes when you send sympathy flowers on a somber occasion. For instance, the size and type of floral arrangement might depend on the location of their delivery. Large bouquets are best sent directly to the funeral home from the florist, compared to small bouquets that you can take with you to a loved one’s home. You can also add a card to write down feelings that might be difficult to say out loud and add your name to let the recipient know who the flowers are from.
There is no right or wrong time to send flowers when expressing sympathy for the loss of a loved one through a floral arrangement. Even if you find out about their passing after the funeral, you can still send sympathy flowers to their family residence. Since these flowers are meant as a gesture of love and compassion, sending them to a grieving individual or family is never a bad idea.
Conclusion
Besides being one of the most loved gifts of nature, flowers are universally used to convey emotions based on their type and colors. If you want to send a flower arrangement to a family grieving a loss, you can choose between flowers like lilies, chrysanthemums, carnations, roses, and more. Talking to a florist can help you make an informed decision regarding the appropriate choice of funeral or sympathy flowers.
