The sad irony that Flight MH17 went down in a field of sunflowers was not lost on Liliane Derden's loved ones.
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The bright yellow blooms were one of her favourite flowers.
When friends heard she died on board the plane shot from the sky a year ago, they sent bunches of them to her family.
The cheerful flowers were at odds with the overwhelming grief Chelsea and Cassie Gibson waded through in the days, weeks and months after the crash.
But they have also become a symbol of hope and meaning as the sisters vowed through the pain to remember her as a strong woman and loving and supportive mother – not simply a victim of tragedy.
Belgium-born Ms Derden, who lived in Hall, was among 298 passengers and crew who died when the Malaysian Airlines was struck by a missile in eastern Ukraine on July 17.
She was one of 38 Australians killed who will be remembered at a national memorial service in Canberra on the first anniversary of the crash.
This week Chelsea Gibson, 22, received one of about 200 packages filled with seeds harvested by hand at the MH17 crash site and sent to victims' family and friends.
Fairfax Media chief correspondent Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty collected the seeds as a keepsake for loved ones who couldn't travel to the site.
They were cultivated in a secure quarantine facility by the Australian Department of Agriculture before being distributed.
Ms Gibson registered her interest in receiving some of the seeds last year and said she then received "all these little updates" from Mr McGeough during the quest to bring them home.
She said the effort they went to in order to provide a "little bit of closure to the families" had "moved me beyond belief".
"I will never be able to thank them to the extent that they deserve but I hope they have an idea of how grateful we are to have had their commitment and support over the last 12 months to do something meaningful."
The sisters collected the parcel of black seeds on Thursday but hadn't decided where or when they would plant them.
"I have to do some research on how to grow sunflowers because my sister and I tried to grow them when we were younger and we didn't have much luck," Ms Gibson said.
Ms Gibson said for her mum to die in a field of the blooms was "probably the best outcome considering the circumstances".
"I probably try not to think of [the sunflowers] too much as a reference of the accident and what happened, but more of Mum and them being her favourite flowers," Ms Gibson said.
A memorial service was held in Canberra for Ms Derden in July last year and her family later travelled to Belgium for a funeral and to bring her remains home.
Her ashes were scattered off a favourite patch of the NSW south coast at Bawley Point in November.
Ms Gibson said the week leading up to the one-year anniversary of the crash had been "terribly hard".
She reflected on the time she spent in Europe and Morocco with her mother the weeks before her death and recalled how quickly her life was turned upside down.
"We are all still waiting for her to come home."
Ms Gibson said while she wanted her remembered as a strong and supportive mother, she realised her death would always be inextricably linked to the disaster.
"Our family and mum's closest friends will remember her loving and nurturing personality, as well as her sense of humour, but ultimately she will be remembered by passing away on MH17 and that's out of my control."
