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Sep 26

Stressed out? Build in some flowers….Yvette

 

We know it might appear that some of us here at Bloom College HQ have little to do but trawl cyberspace for weird, wonderful and inspiring facts and features about flowers, design, innovation and all things related to sustainability, but it’s not true. We also have to eat, drink, be merry, create pieces of (floral and other) art, tend our edible and ornamental gardens and get inspired in the real world as well.

That aside, we can’t help but be eager to share with you a little find about some research investigating which type of urban communal spaces are the best for promoting mental health and restoring mental health for stressed people. We don’t pretend to be academic experts, but it appears that research by Oladele Ogunseitan from the University of California confirms what many of us flower lovers have somehow ‘known’ for a long time. Flowers and lakes are the most therapeutic elements to have in an urban environment which is designed to rejuvenate and heal stressed people and restore their wellbeing.

The research was published in Environ Health Perspect. 2005 February; 113(2): 143–148 and was published online on 22 November, 2004 doi:  10.1289/ehp.7467 We sighted it on 19 September, 2013 at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1277856/

Let’s hope the research findings and recommendations are being noted by the urban designers, landscapers and architects who are operating in an urban environment near you.