Letterbox Flowers: How to Send Them

We make cards, pin badges and prints in the UK, all of them flat enough to post. We don't sell flowers, so the guide below is a straight guide - the cards and prints at the end are the only things we're selling.

Letterbox flowers are sent in bud, flat-packed in a slim box, and posted through the door so nobody has to be in. They cost less than a courier bouquet and they arrive without a knock.

Below: how to send them properly, how the packing works, what actually fits through a UK letterbox, and what to write inside - because the message is the part the recipient keeps.

How to send letterbox flowers

• Order a day or two ahead. Most services post rather than courier, so the delivery day is a target, not a promise.
• Check the delivery date, not the dispatch date. Dispatch tells you when it leaves, not when it lands.
• Get the address exactly right, including the flat number. There's no driver to ring a bell and work it out.
• Pick stems sent in bud - they travel better and open in the vase rather than on the doormat.
• Avoid sending to a workplace or a hospital ward. Neither has a letterbox that behaves like a front door.
• Send the card separately, first class, so it doesn't get lost inside the packaging.

How letterbox flowers are packed

• The box is built to the letterbox, usually under 2.5cm deep, so it slides through without being forced.
• Stems are cut short and laid flat, with the heads staggered so nothing takes the full weight.
• Each bunch is sleeved in paper or cellophane and strapped to a card insert so it can't slide around in transit.
• Water gel or a damp wrap sits at the cut ends, sealed in a small bag so the box stays dry.
• Buds, not open blooms. Open petals bruise against the box in the first hour.
• A cardboard collar or internal frame stops the box crushing if something heavier lands on it in the sack.

Packing a flat gift yourself

• Measure the letterbox first if you can. Standard UK slots take roughly 25mm.
• Use a rigid board either side of anything that must stay flat - a print, a photo, a pressed flower.
• Tape the contents down rather than letting them float. Movement is what causes damage, not the drop.
• Mark it "Do not bend" and accept that it might get bent anyway.
• Never post anything glass, and never post anything perishable second class.
• Post the card in its own envelope. Two items arriving on two days is better than one crushed parcel.

What to write with letterbox flowers

• Thinking of you this week. No need to reply - I'll ring on Sunday.
• These won't last, but I wanted you to have something on the doormat this morning.
• Sending these because I can't be there. I'd rather be there.
• A small thing to say I'm still thinking about you, a month on.
• Happy birthday - the flowers are the excuse, the message is the point.
• Thank you for last weekend. You fed us, housed us, and refused to let us help.
• No occasion. Just you crossed my mind and I wanted you to know it.
• I'm sorry. I should have said it sooner and in person.

Messages for sympathy and illness

• There's nothing I can say that helps, so I'm just saying I'm here.
• Thinking of you and of him, every day this week.
• I'll keep writing. You don't have to answer any of it.
• Sending something for the windowsill, and my love with it.
• Take the treatment a week at a time. I'll check in on Fridays.

Shop thinking of you cards

Prints that post flat

A5, A4 and A3 art prints, drawn in house and printed in the UK.

How to write it so it lands

• Send in bud, not in bloom.
• Measure the slot - 25mm is the usual limit.
• Post the card separately, first class.

Where to shop next

• Letterbox gifts instead of flowers
• Letterbox sympathy gifts
• Thinking of you gifts by post
• What fits through a letterbox
• Letterbox gifts for someone far away
• The rise of letterbox flowers
• What to write in a sympathy card
• Thinking of you messages
• Wall art and prints
• All guides
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges

Frequently asked questions

How do letterbox flowers work?

Stems are cut short, sent in bud and laid flat in a slim box under about 2.5cm deep, so the postie can put them through the door without anyone being home. The recipient trims the ends and puts them in water, and they open over the next few days.

How are letterbox flowers packed?

Flat, in a rigid box sized to a standard UK letterbox. Stems are sleeved, strapped to a card insert so they can't move, and the cut ends sit in water gel or a damp wrap sealed in a bag to keep the box dry.

What size fits through a UK letterbox?

Most standard UK letterboxes take something around 25mm deep. Anything thicker becomes a parcel and gets left with a neighbour or taken back to the delivery office.

What should I write with letterbox flowers?

Say why you sent them and what you'll do next. "Thinking of you - I'll ring Sunday" does more work than any printed verse. Write it in a proper card and post it separately so it isn't thrown out with the packaging.

Do letterbox flowers need a card?

They're better with one. The flowers last a week; a written card gets kept in a drawer for years, and it's the part that names you rather than the florist.