Send Flowers: A heartfelt speculative debut examining the climate crisis with warmth and humour

Fiona, better known as eco-influencer @FoliageFifi, hasn't left her flat since her boyfriend, Ed, died. She blames herself for what happened to him and for the failure of their climate activist group. But when Ed's favourite plant appears on her doorstep with an anonymous note, Fifi feels a glimmer of hope. She sprinkles his ashes into the soil and wakes to find that the plant has flowered. Not just that - it can talk. Her explanation? Ed is back. This time as a houseplant.

Intent on keeping Ed and his flowers alive, Fifi follows his cues into a world on the brink of climate collapse. But when Ed becomes demanding, urging her towards the people and places that left her scarred, Fifi realises that preserving his life could mean risking her own.

How far will she go to keep him blooming?

Set in a future that feels all too real, Emily Buchanan's startlingly original debut explores the right to protest amidst climate chaos, the importance of community in weathering life's storms and the resilience of love and hope in a world that seems beyond saving. Perfect for fans of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, Death Valley by Melissa Broder, The Overstory by Richard Powers and Weather by Jenny Offill.

'Send Flowers is so much more than its brilliantly out-there concept: a climate activist's dead boyfriend comes back as a houseplant. Equal parts funny and furious, it's a book that blooms as you read it' Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg

'Radical, hopeful stories are exactly what the world needs right now and through her characters, Emily gets to the heart of what drives activism now and throughout history: the simple hope that a better world is possible' Will McCallum, Executive Director, Greenpeace UK

'Witty, original and aching with feeling... Buchanan has made a powerful contribution to the new body of climate fiction, both illuminating the curse of caring too much and warning us of the dire consequences of caring too little. A novel for our times' Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal

'A warm, witty take on grief - both for lost loved ones and for our ailing planet - Send Flowerscaptures the beauty of found family, the power of community and the challenge of finding, and embracing, our true purpose in life. Buchanan's spirited message will renew your appreciation for nature and leave your inner activist inspired' Mikki Brammer, author of The Collected Regrets of Clover

'A prescient love letter to activism and the natural world that serves as a timely call to arms for people and planet' Henry Fry, author of First Time for Everything

This novel contains depictions of mental illness (including PTSD, stigma and one instance of suicidal ideation), and references to racism and police brutality.

© 2025 Verve Books (E-bog): 9780857308948

Release date

E-bog: 1. juli 2025