Plants Add Happiness

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Creating small gardening projects provide happiness and well being too.

New Studies Confirm Health and Emotional Benefits of Plants

Most gardeners will tell you how much better they feel when they are working in their gardens. They comment on how much they enjoy working with their plants and how tending to their flowers and plants helps relax and invigorate them.

Are these feelings more than just feelings? Is their something scientific that can be tied to plants, flowers and happiness? A few studies seem to think so. Such as Jeannette M. Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Human Development at Rutgers University, New Jersey study explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of 147 women.

Some of the findings include:
•Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness improving our emotional health.
•Flowers and plants have a long-term positive effect on moods. Their color, scent and texture connect us with nature, which has been attributed to improving emotional health and reducing stress.
•Flowers increase sentimental feelings toward family, friends and loved ones due to the warmth and affection that is felt upon receiving flowers.

Additional research by Texas A&M University focused on businesses, found that one way to have and keep a happy and productive workforce is to include plants and flowers in the workplace. During the eight month study both men and women demonstrated more innovative thinking, generated more ideas and original solutions to problems when flowers and plants were included in the workplace compared to offices of men and women without plants and flowers in their workplace.

Finally, research indicates that flowering plants speed recovery from surgery. A study from the Department of Horticulture, Recreation and Forestry at Kansas State University, provides strong evidence that contact with plants/flowers is directly beneficial to a hospital patient's health. This study was published in the October 2008 issue of HortTechnology and was conducted on 90 patients.

Patients with plants in their rooms had significantly fewer intakes of pain medication, more positive physiological responses (lower blood pressure), less pain anxiety and fatigue than their counterparts in the control group who were without plants in their rooms.

Regardless of how plants and flowers are grown or given, the positive emotions created from them and the sense of well being associated with them has been scientifically proven. I think as gardeners we have known this for some time. It is good to know that consumers, managers and professionals are now thinking differently on how plants and flowers can positively influence others.

Research findings from:
Seong-Hyun Park and Richard Mattson, researchers at Kansas State University.
Rutgers University, Psychology Department.
The Society of American Florist.
The American Society for Horticultural Science.
Center for Health Systems and Design, Texas A&M University.