Usually a bunch flowers will fill the void when you’re not sure what to say — or when words aren’t enough.
They can be used to convey happiness, sadness, sympathy, an apology, support or congratulations.
Mostly, they’ll come with a card or short handwritten note to let you know who they’re from and what they’re for.
A group of florists have taken to Reddit to share the most heartbreaking messages they’ve ever had to write and, just a warning, you might want to grab the nearest box of tissues.
1. “A man paid for flowers to be left at his wife’s graveside once a month. Always wrote ‘I love and miss you’ on it. Not the saddest thing to write, but just the idea of it. He always called to make sure we didn’t forget, too.”
2. “‘Only here for a day, however his memory will live forever.’ This was for someone’s baby who lived for nine hours after birth before passing away.”
3. ‘Sorry I ruined your life,’ from a man to his ex-lover.
The Mamamia team share their most crushing rejections (post continues after video):
4. One florist recalled their worst day at work after a 7 or 8-year-old girl died:
“The neighbourhood she lived in was right across the street from my shop, and one day before the funeral all the little girl’s friends came in with their parents to pick things out for the funeral.
“It was heart wrenching with each of these little girls and boys choosing flowers and saying what they wanted on the card. I’ll never forget it.”
5. This one didn’t come from a florist, but it still gave us some feels:
“I once had flowers delivered to my office and the card said, ‘I know I will never see you again but I wanted to thank you for changing my life’.”
6. ‘Thanks for the herpes.’ Speaks for itself, really.
7. “The florist didn’t write it, my grandfather did,” one user shared. It read:
“Happy anniversary. I’ll always love you. Fife.” It arrived with a bouquet on his 40th wedding anniversary, 5 months after he died from colon cancer.
8. And finally, in the interests of lifting the mood a little bit, here’s one that ought to cheer you up:
The grand daughter of a florist recalled watching her put together an intricate arrangement with a card at the centre which read: ‘Eric, I’m sorry to have heard of your recent tragedy. You’ll forever be missed by us all.’
“Turns out Eric was just getting married — the arrangement was from his drinking buddies,” the woman wrote.
Nope, didn’t work. Just off to have a little sob in the toilets at work now.
You can read the thread in full here.