Imagine it’s Sunday morning, and you run out to do your grocery shopping, and also grab a fresh bouquet to occupy that beautiful vase you have. You get home, snip the dried ends of the stems and give your flowers a new home in some fresh water and sunlight. What an aesthetically pleasing addition to a home, but did you know flowers enhance your mental and emotional space as well? Let’s explore the spectrum of benefits to keeping flowers:
Focusing on Aesthetics Is Not Shallow
Let’s put it this way – when you look good, you feel good. I’m a huge advocate of the importance of decorating whatever space it is that you live in or call home because it’s where most of us spend a vast majority of our time. Having furniture and art that is pleasing to the eye makes your home more enjoyable, and I like to think of a nice bouquet as being part of that art. Since flowers can range from plenty of different sizes and colors and smells, they provide such a unique contribution to our space.
You might have a blank table or wall space that you’re wondering how you could occupy, and these might be your solution. You can keep the same flowers weekly or switch it up often like regularly altering your home decor. Vases also come in so many different colors and shapes and functionalities that an orange wall-hanging vase might be just the touch you need to brighten your room. It’s perfectly ok to love flowers just for the beauty they provide.
Nature is a Mood Enhancement
In addition to brightening up a room, I find flowers to brighten my mood too. Going on a hike, or to the beach, or just touching grass are all ways to spend time in nature and enhance your mood. But having flowers, and maybe even plants, at home is like having a little slice of that without ever having to step foot outside. Other mental and emotional benefits that come from flowers can come from the sign of life growing in your home. Healthy flowers are a positive reinforcement from taking care of something and watching them flourish.
Have you ever thought of how colors make you feel? It is proven that colors can conjure or alter emotions in us. According to an article by Neurofied, warm colors like red, yellow, and orange evoke emotions like love and passion while colors like blue, green, and purple are linked to calmness. I think this is why we feel joy and appreciation when we receive flowers. It’s a gift that evokes so many more emotions. I love walking past flowers on my console and being reminded that I’m loved.
Health Benefits
The scent of particular flowers can give off healing components but we also use flowers for teas and other drinks. Lavender is a common flower used for calming. We see it in candles, aroma mists, and pillow sprays because it helps with relaxation and sleep. One of my favorite teas is lavender chamomile, and I’ve made a rule that I can never drink it when I’m at work because I will fall asleep.
Just like lavender, chamomile flowers are used in teas as a calming agent. Rose petals are an ingredient that is used in beverages, jam, and jellies, and can even be eaten raw in salads. Rose petals are also used in Yoni steams as they “contain quercetin, tannins, and volatile oils that nourish the reproductive system and treat sexual dysfunction. Lastly, hibiscus is an antioxidant that helps increase good cholesterol and improves skin and liver health.
Flowers also improve the air quality through photosynthesis. One of my core memories of science lessons was the fact that humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide while plants do the exact opposite. It’s a beneficial exchange between flowers and humans. Being around plants can improve concentration and memory up to 20%, according to research at Texas A&M University.
Where can you pick up these dreamy flowers I speak of? Aside from the grocery stores and those of us who grow our own flowers, there are farmers’ markets and even flower markets where you can find bouquets or single flowers to create your own. You can support your local flower shop or local street vendors selling flowers. In places like NY and LA, you can check out the flower district for wholesale flowers and plants.
There is no magic formula for picking the best flower arrangement, other than following what best suits your needs. What colors are you looking for? What healing properties might you need at this moment? Do I also have or can I create the appropriate space for my flowers and I to thrive together (sunlight/water)? Whatever you choose, I hope it’s therapeutic and exciting, or whatever you need it to be. And every time you walk past your vase full of petals, remind yourself that you are love!
