Tag Archives: flowers for health and happiness

The Therapeutic Power of Petals

Do Flowers Actually Improve Mental Health?

Yes, bringing fresh flowers into your living space or workspace directly correlates with improved mental health and reduced stress. As we champion the core value of health at Bloom College, we emphasize that floristry is not just about making things look pretty; it is about creating environments where people thrive.

Research conducted by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital found that the presence of fresh-cut flowers in the home makes people feel more compassionate, less worried, and significantly less depressed.

“Flowers emanate a positive frequency that can be felt, this is their invisible beauty”, Yvette Founder of Bloom College

How to Practice Therapeutic Floristry at Home

You do not need to be a professional to reap the health benefits of flowers. Here is how you can use botanicals to boost your well-being in no matter your location:

  1. Scent for Sleep: Keep lavender or chamomile near your bed; their natural aromas are proven to lower heart rates and promote restful sleep.

  2. Color for Energy: Place bright, warm-toned blooms (like yellow banksias or vibrant tulips) in your workspace to stimulate creativity and joy.

  3. Greenery for Focus: Incorporate lush green foliage to reduce eye strain and promote a sense of safety and calm.

When we prioritise our physical and mental health, our art flourishes. Join the Bloom College Flower Therapy course to learn how to design arrangements that nurture your well-being.

How Flower Arranging Feeds the Soul

Why is Flower Arranging So Relaxing?

If you have ever lost track of time while trimming stems and placing blooms into a vase, you have experienced the soul-feeding magic of floristry. Flower arranging is more than just a creative hobby; it is an active meditation. In our fast-paced, screen-heavy world, stepping back to work with natural elements forces us to slow down, breathe, and ground ourselves in the present moment.

At Bloom College, we see students across Australia and New Zealand discover this every week. When your hands are busy balancing the delicate arch of a eucalyptus branch or the heavy head of a locally grown peony, your mind simply cannot dwell on tomorrow’s worries.

The Science of Floral Joy, It isn’t just a feeling—it is backed by science. A famous ten-month study conducted by Rutgers University demonstrated that flowers are a natural and healthy moderator of moods. All participants in the study expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, and they reported feeling significantly less depressed, anxious, and agitated after being exposed to flowers regularly.

Key benefits of floristry as a mindful hobby:

Tactile grounding: Working with different textures connects you to the physical world.

Visual stimulation: Colour therapy gently boosts mood and energy.

Creative expression: It offers a nature based outlet for your imagination.

Ready to feed your soul?

Whether you want a mindful hobby or are curious about a floristry business, our beginner courses at Bloom College give you the foundation to let your creativity bloom.

connect to nature with flowers

Feed Your Soul: Why Flowers Help Us Feel Connected

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‘Surround yourself with people who give you energy.’ – Dr. Tererai Trent

 

I love this quote from Dr. Trent. It’s often said in self-help teachings that there are people in our lives who give us energy, and there are those who suck that energy right out of us. I certainly try to surround myself with more of the former, but it’s not just people who pour energy into my life.

 

Flowers as energy

 

I believe that the beauty of flowers is a direct reflection of our inner beauty as spiritual beings having a human experience. This beauty derives from one source––the pure light source energy that is eternal life. Flowers hold power to make us feel good, positive energy because they are the essence of it. I believe they are the closest tangible living things to what we can see from our origins as living beings, all having derived from one source of energy. They have the power to take us from dark to light if we allow it. 

 

For me, the interconnectedness of all living things can be best felt through arranging flowers. The more I play, the less separate I feel, until there is no them or I––only oneness. But what do we need to be connected to? We must connect with ourselves, our loved ones, those in our community, and most importantly––nature.

 

We need to bring flowers and plants into our living spaces, even more so if we don’t have gardens to access on a daily basis. 

connection to nature

Their importance proven

 

A study by the Department of Horticulture at Kansas State University showed that ornamental indoor plants in hospital rooms significantly enhanced the health outcomes of patients recovering from surgery. They found that patients in rooms with flowers and plants had notably lower ratings of pain and anxiety compared with patients in the control room.

 

Jeannette Haviland-Jones Ph.D, Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University is quoted as saying, ‘Science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well-being.’ 

 

So naturally staying connected with flowers and plants helps us to stay connected with the universal source of life ‘chi’ energy that we so desire and need. Flowers hold that positive energy!

 

In fact, flowers are so essential to our survival that NASA has been experimenting with growing them on Mars since 2000. In their paper, Mars Greenhouse Experiment Module: An Experiment to Grow Flowers on Mars, NASA researchers stated that ‘These plants would be the first organisms from Earth to grow, live and die on another world. They would be true biological pioneers, an important step for life from Earth as it begins its expansion beyond the planet of origin.’

 

Artist Claude Monet deeply understood the immense power of flowers. His friend Antonin Proust was quoted saying of Monet, ‘All it took to restore his good spirits was the sight of a flower. Monet would exclaim, “I’d like to paint them all.”’

 

Staying connected

flowers depicting connection

It’s clear that there is something almost spiritual about this connection we as humans have with nature, especially flowers. It’s why we feel so disconnected when we can’t leave home for periods of time (remember Covid?) and why people suggest going outside and touching the grass when you’ve been cooped up too long. When thinking about how to stay connected, we need to look at all facets of ourselves, feeding the body, mind and soul.

 

While the body and mind can be nourished with rest, nutritious food, exercise, fresh air, sunshine, positivity and knowledge, the soul needs something a little different.

 

The soul is fed by connections with other people, spending time with animals, being out in nature and enjoying the beauty of it. The soul is fed with flowers.

 

This whole concept of the connection between the positive energy of flowers and the feeding of our souls was a key part of my book, Feed Your Soul With Flowers. If this connection is something that fascinates you, I really encourage you to get your hands on a copy. Not only will it nourish your soul as you read, but it will also provide you with the building blocks for a future of sustained soul nourishment.

flowers feeding the soul

If you have any questions about this topic, I’d love to speak with you about it. You can get in touch here.

 

 

flower therapy

5 Ways That Flowers May Improve Your Mental Health

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Do flowers really have the power to make us happy? 

According to behavioural research from Rutgers University, it would seem so. 

A study was conducted in 2004 by Dr Jeanette Haviland over a ten month period to explore the link between flowers and life satisfaction. Findings showed that flowers were a natural moderator of moods and had strong positive effects on emotional health. This was some of the first scientific evidence that flowers really did promote feelings of happiness and joy––both of which are essential for our psychological health and wellbeing. But while the scientific evidence is now here to back this idea up, this is something that artists, poets, florists and gardeners have instinctively known for centuries.

Mental illness is now one of Australia’s major health issues. According to the most recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than two in five Australians had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life, with one in five disclosing that their mental health disorder had gone on for twelve or more months.

The most worrying statistic of all however, is that of the 4.2 million Australians who were living with an ongoing mental health disorder between 2020-2021, only half sought treatment, meaning that so many others suffered in silence and likely without any support, professional or otherwise.

While many assume that the only strategies involve expensive therapy or are prescription driven, there are actually many creative, hands-on methods that are effective in helping those striving for improved mental health.

One of those I discovered myself when I experienced my first mental health ‘episode’. I was young, an award-winning florist and I had the world at my feet. However, at 24, I hit rock bottom, suffering from severe depression and anxiety before my passion and love for flowers pulled me from my darkest days.

Based on my own experience, I believe flower arranging to be a unique solution that allows people to access the healing property of flowers as a key component of an effective health and wellbeing strategy.

Here are five ways that flowers can be introduced into a weekly routine to help promote better mental health:

  1. Buy yourself a bunch from the markets 

Buy yourself a gorgeous, oversized vase and start filling it with different bunches of fresh flowers from the markets each week, letting the heady scents fill your home for days. Dr. Haviland’s research showed that flowers have a long-term, positive effect on moods, with study participants feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after being exposed to flowers on a regular basis.

  1. Plant a flower garden 

Head down to Bunnings or your local nursery and secure yourself some seedlings. Carve out some time each weekend for your new hobby garden, planting and tending to your flowers. Not only will you have a beautiful flower garden, but you’ll also be able to display your flowers in your home.

  1. Give flowers more regularly as gifts 

All study participants from Dr. Haviland’s study expressed excitement when receiving flowers. Reactions included surprise, genuine happiness and gratitude, resulting in a deeper and more meaningful relationship between the giver and receiver.

  1. DIY Flowers 

If you prefer the self-taught method, join an online class on how to create your own gorgeous floral arrangement and make it a hobby to create a unique arrangement every week. You could even go one step further and create your own Instagram or Pinterest accounts to showcase your creative genius!

  1. Do a course in flower arranging 

Find a workshop or short course near you and enrol to learn how to turn those $10 market flowers into a floral masterpiece. Flower arranging has the power to help us enter into a parasympathetic state which moves us from flight or fight into relax and reset, making it a very powerful pick-me-up when you’re feeling down.

flower school

The link between flower arranging and mental health is fascinating, so much so that I’ve actually written an entire book about it! If you’re interested in diving further into this topic, check out Feed Your Soul With Flowers.

Yvette x

Flower Therapy Book

Feed Your Soul with Flowers