Give Yourself a Bouquet

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Finally, I have some justification for a decades long addiction to cut flowers! The Home Ecology of Flowers study conducted at Harvard concluded that:

–Participants who lived with flowers for less than a week felt an increase in feelings of kindness and compassion toward others.

–Participants felt a decrease in anxiety and depression after only a few days.

–People felt a burst of energy and enthusiasm at work when they had flowers in their HOME environment. (I find that one particularly interesting!)

The researcher, Dr. Nancy Etcoff, concludes, "As a psychologist, I'm particularly intrigued to find that people who live with flowers report fewer episodes of anxiety and depressed feelings. Our results suggest that flowers have a positive impact on our well being."

This isn't a new study–I think it was conducted in 2006, but is lately making the rounds in the news and on social media. A boon to florists, as you can imagine!!

But I could have told you those things, except maybe the third result, that having flowers at home carries the positive feelings over into outside work.

For years, one of the reasons I most looked forward to trips to London was the availability of fresh flowers. One of the first things I would do, along with picking up the most essential groceries, was (and still is) to buy a big bouquet of fresh flowers from the nearest street vendor. Most neighborhoods in central London have a flower stall, and of course all the markets have flower sellers as well. I would buy flowers for a long stay in a hotel, too, even if it meant acquiring a vase somewhere!

Flowers were a luxury I couldn't usually afford at home–they were either very expensive from a florist or sad (and also expensive) long-stemmed roses from the supermarket or the drugstore. Then Trader Joe's came to my neighborhood and fresh flowers became a regular weekly fix at home as well as in London. (For those of you who don't have Trader Joe's, every store has a huge daily selection of fresh–and reasonably priced–flowers.) I also cut flowers from my garden, although I've never attempted a real cutting garden, and I buy cheerful bouquets from the farmer's market when they're available. Locally grown flowers are becoming a popular thing here, too.

I know I always feel better when there are flowers in the house. Convalescing from surgery recently, I've kept a bouquet from the farmer's market on my living room table where I can see it all the time, and I always keep a little home-picked posey on my kitchen windowsill. (I've discovered that Swedish ivy, begonia, basil, and rosemary will easily root in a glass and will last for weeks!)

One thing I did notice about the Harvard study is that all the participants were female–would the same results hold true for men, I wonder? What do you think, Reds? Do you keep flowers in the house, and do they boost your mood? (And your productivity!)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, what a wonderful post. Yes, in fact, I always have flowers. Always. I have a summer flower subscription from the farmers market, so I get what they provide every week, and extend with flowers from our own garden, (and sometimes our rosemary) and sometimes buy at the grocery, whatever looks nice. You know how much I love our home-grown tulips every year, and now we have hydrangeas, and dahlias on the way. Crossing fingers.

And oh, when the peonies arrive, and their fragrance is so lovely!

(And I’m obsessive about changing the water.)

So–yes yes yes, it’s important to me,and I genuinely appreciate them each time I see them.

RHYS BOWEN:  I do love flowers but it’s always iffy about what can be brought into the house and not trigger allergies. Every fancy arrangement from publishers contains lilies which are my absolute nemesis. I do fine with roses, which John brings me occasionally but most flowers that are scented bring on the sneezes. 

HALLIE EPHRON: I love flowers and all summer I bring some in from the garden. This year loads of hydrangea. And I have some orchid plants and a Christmas cactus that reliably bloom. 

Flowers are like birds — a lovely reminder of the spectacular world we’re trying not to irreparably damage. A reason to pick my head up out of the weeds and pay attention.

JENN McKINLAY: Love flowers in the house. I go through phases of buying flowers. Depending upon whether I am in a Hooligan tuition paying cycle or not. LOL. If my rose bush, zinnias, or sunflowers are in bloom  I cut my own, which brings me extra joy because I grew them myself. 

LUCY BURDETTE: I love flowers but mostly keep them outside. I think this has to do with the way the water smells if I don’t change it often, and unlike Hank, I’m bad at this. (Hate to make the comparison, but it’s kind of like kitty litter.)

If we are having dinner guests, I do bring flowers in from John’s garden and the yard and enjoy making funky arrangements including herbs!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I mean, who doesn’t love flowers inside? In the spring and summer, I’m able to cut from throughout the property; from forsythia branches in March to sunflowers and asters in September. I’m also a huge fan of faux! I started collecting good-quality fabric flowers back when we didn’t even have a Hanneford nearby to pick up a bouquet, and now I have all sorts of seasonal arrangements. I keep them enclosed in plastic bags so they remain dust-free and rotate them on the same schedule I would live flowers. Lucy, you should consider this - no water to change!

DEBS: Lucy, I especially love your little arrangements! Are those blue iris REAL??

How about, dear readers? Do you love flowers in the house?