I see it in the faces of the two ladies that stopped by Fantasy Floral on their lunch break, “It smells so good in here!” I hear it in the choked up voice of the mom who called us on Mother’s Day, “I just wanted to thank you. This is the most beautiful arrangement I have ever received! I just…just thank you…” Our delivery drivers witness it walking into office buildings, and without fail, someone they pass exclaims with a smile, “For me?!”

Reduce Stress

Last month, one of my childhood friends posted a photo on Facebook of her handing a bouquet of flowers to a woman as part of the Society of American Florists’ #StressLess tour. The look on the recipient’s face is one of joyful surprise, and I thought to myself, “This is why I love managing my son’s flower shop!” It’s not just a job; it’s being a part of something that brings joy, but that photo made me realize that it’s so much more than just bringing a moment of joy.

Bring Joy

Traditionally, we give women flowers for special occasions–anniversaries, birthdays, and of course Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. We’ve always known women love receiving flowers, but as I contemplated why we love flowers and did a bit of research, I found studies that provided a wealth of information and unexpected insight.

In one study, run by Jeannette Haviland-Jones in her Human Emotions Lab at Rutgers University, participants were presented with one of three gifts—a decorative candle, a fruit basket, or a floral bouquet—­supposedly as a thank-you for taking part in a study on mood. “In every case, the recipients responded to the flowers with what is known as the Duchenne smile—a heartfelt ‘true smile’ involving the mouth, cheeks, and eyes; neither the candle nor the fruit elicited that kind of across-­the-board positive response. And three days later, the flower recipients were still feeling happier than their cohorts in the study.”

Increase Personal Connections

The good effects don’t end there though! The participants that received the flower bouquets “reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.” While we’ve always known how much women love flowers, did you know that men also love flowers? “The men who received flowers demonstrated increased eye contact in conversation, stood in closer proximity to the researchers, and produced more and truer smiles than those men who did not receive flowers.”

Brighten the Office

Recently, we started delivering weekly arrangements to a local business. Every Monday we rotate the old arrangements out and replace them with new arrangements. We provide two smaller arrangements that sit on coffee tables in waiting areas, and we provide a larger arrangement for the counter in their coffee/beverage area. It’s amazing how much the flowers brighten up the office, and after reading various studies on the effect flowers have on people, I also think it’s a great strategic move on the part of the business! Flowers have a positive effect on the mood, energy level, and productivity of everyone in the office!

Boost Productivity

A behavioral research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that “study participants who lived with fresh cut flowers for less than a week felt an increase in feelings of compassion and kindness for others. Overall, people in the study simply felt less negative after being around flowers… The study found that people were more likely to feel happier and have more enthusiasm and energy at work.” Adding to these findings, a Texas A&M study found “that a change as simple as adding flowers and plants can be important in the most meaningful way to businesses in the modern economy… People’s productivity, in the form of innovation and creative problem solving, improved – which in certain circumstances could mean the difference between mild and great business success. During the study, both women and men demonstrated more innovative thinking, generating more ideas and original solutions to problems in the office environment that included flowers and plants.”

What’s not to love about flowers?

For me, I’ve been working with computers since I was in high school using the first generation of Peachtree Software in the early 80’s. Although managing the flower shop still involves a computer, I just love this latest chapter in my life–learning about flowers and designing arrangements. One of the best parts, happens on a day that is grey and rainy and my mood is not much brighter; I come into the shop and find gorgeous ranunculus, or peonies fully blooming, or see stargazer lilies bursting in color. I defy you to stay glum once you step into Fantasy Floral! Now that means you have to come visit us!

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The first gifts I remember giving my mom for Mother’s Day were handmade cards and a drinking glass full of flowers that I had picked around the neighborhood. No, they were not my neighbor’s daffodils and tulips! In my little girl eyes, they were a beautiful array of yellows and reds and purples and greens. In reality they were buttercups, dandelions, yellow rocket, red clover, bull thistle, and chicory. I proudly presented my bouquet of weeds to my mom, and she just as proudly hugged me and thanked me.

I was walking my dogs the other morning. The undeveloped land next to the path I was on was bursting with color–bright yellow buttercups and yellow rocket, purple deadnettle, and vibrant red clover. I gathered a large handful of assorted weeds as we walked and put them in a drinking glass when we got home. I had forgotten how reflective buttercup petals are. This reminded me of the custom my mom shared with me and my brother when we were growing up. If you hold a buttercup flower under your chin, and a yellow reflection appears, you like butter!

the leaf…

As my brother and I got older, Mother’s Day gifts involved helping my mom plant flowers. She wasn’t a huge gardener, but she always planted some annual flowers and had crocus, hyacinth, tulips, and daffodils, that came up throughout the yard in early spring. Her rule of thumb was that flowers shouldn’t be planted until Mother’s Day because of that ever-present chance of a late April frost. We would go to church in the morning, take Mom out to lunch, and then Dad would take us to the garden center so Mom could choose her annuals.

the bud…

When I became a young mother in my own home, I came to look forward to Mother’s Day because it marked the first day that I could bring my yard to life with flowers. We had a small townhouse yard, and I especially loved impatiens because our front yard never got full sun. The impatiens thrived in the shade, and by the end of summer they were huge globes of color surrounding the tree and framing the front of our house.

the bloom…

As my boys got older, Mom and Dad moved to a home on 5 acres because they wanted some privacy. The first Mother’s Day that they were in their new home, I wanted to give my mom something more permanent than a bouquet of cut flowers. I bought her a hydrangea plant to christen their new yard. It was blue because that was her favorite color to decorate with. It felt like the perfect gift–a flowering plant that could grow with their memories in their new home.

pressed between pages…

My dad loved giving flowers to his “girl.” He was always bringing home a wrapped bouquet for Mom, just because. This became difficult in his later years when he couldn’t drive so he would have me pick flowers up for him when I was going to their house to visit. His favorite florist was actually in the McNamara family-owned General Store in Clifton, VA. Dad would tell the florist, Judy, what he wanted, and I would grab the arrangement on my way up the hill to their home. Mom was never without fresh flowers on Mother’s Day! Judy has retired as a florist, but the Clifton General Store is still thriving under her children’s management. It is now the very popular Main Street Pub, and they always have fresh spider mum flowers on each table!

the seed…

I’ve come to love the holidays at Fantasy Floral but especially Mother’s Day! As people describe the flowers and kind of arrangement they would like, often they end up describing what they love about their mom or wife. I get to hear great stories about great moms! Even better are the stories our drivers share with us–the looks of wonder when moms open their front doors to a beautiful arrangement and the gratitude expressed. Love and mothers and flowers just go hand in hand.

Stevie Wonder says it well, “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.”

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