If your love language is receiving flowers, then one of the best days is coming up soon! Receiving flowers has been proven to provide many health benefits and I think everyone is in need of some beneficial healing these days. Since Valentine’s Day is upon us, I’d like to share what some of these benefits are and also how to lengthen the life of the flowers you receive this year!

“According to behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction, and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed” (Haviland-Jones et al., 2005). Now this study was not only done with women participants, men participants also showed similar positive results! So ladies, you might also think about buying flowers this year for your man, because they enjoy them too! “Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness, have a long-term positive effect on moods, and make intimate connections” (Haviland-Jones et al., 2005). Who knew flowers could be as helpful as they are and are not gender biased?

This year, take those positive emotions that come from receiving your flowers, and carry them with you into the next week. Follow these tips to make your flowers last longer; your emotional health and the people around you will thank you for it!

Step 1: Receive the flowers and thank the one who gifted them to you!

Step 2: Take them out of the bag and prepare your water – most of the time, your flowers come with a small bag or two of flower food. USE THE PACKET… When mixed as directed, this solution will help combat wilting, by helping your stems stay open longer to absorb water and nutrients.

Step 3: Cut the bottoms off of your stems and rearrange your bouquet – this fresh cut will help that fresh tissue absorb the water and nutrient solution.

Step 4: Place your new bouquet somewhere out of direct sunlight and away from heat vents - too much heat and light will encourage wilting.

Step 5: Change out your water when it starts to get cloudy - make sure to give another fresh cut before adding new water.

Step 6: Remove any flowers that wilt or lose petals – this helps keeps the others healthier longer.

I hope these tips will help you enjoy your flowers for longer this year and that the positive emotions they trigger will last just as long! “Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy,” said Dr. Haviland-Jones (2005). “Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well-being.”

Haviland-Jones, J., Rosario, H. H., Wilson, P., & McGuire, T. R. (2005). An environmental approach to positive emotion: Flowers. Evolutionary Psychology, 3(1), 104–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490500300109