Sending flowers for a death

Condolence orders are the ones people most often get wrong, usually by trying too hard. Restraint is the whole register.

Colour and form

White, and plainly arranged. No bright colour, no ribbon, no bow, nothing that photographs well. White lilies and all-white mixes are the conventional choice and nobody will read anything into either.

Timing

Send during the mourning period rather than on the day itself, when the house is at its most chaotic and nobody can deal with a delivery. Three days after is often kinder than three hours after — and a bouquet arriving a fortnight later, when everyone else has stopped calling, is frequently the one that is remembered.

The card

Short. Name the person who died. Do not write anything that requires a reply, and do not offer a lesson about what the loss means. "Thinking of you all. We remember Amina's kindness." is enough and is better than a paragraph.

Religious sensitivity

In many observant Muslim households flowers are not part of mourning custom at all, and sending them can land awkwardly. If you do not know the family well, food sent to the house is the safer choice. If you are unsure, ask someone closer to them before ordering.

What we do

We deliver condolence orders without a company card and without a second knock. We will telephone before arriving rather than turning up unannounced, and we will not photograph the arrangement. If you tell us the family is observing a mourning period, we deliver plainly wrapped with no ribbon.