The Power of Flowers for Self-Care and Stress Relief
It’s no secret that we love flowers here at Sweet Earth Co. We don’t just love how they look in arrangements, either. We love the process of growing, tending, harvesting, and designing flowers.
Ultimately we believe that flowers are a form of self-care. While the term has been popular online and on social media lately, self-care isn’t just a trend or a buzzword. It’s important for mental and physical wellbeing!
If there were a simple recipe for happiness, self-care would surely be a main ingredient.
What is self-care?
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines it like this: “Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health.”
In practice, self-care can look like many things. Maybe it’s taking walks in nature, reading a book on your sofa, or enjoying a nice meal.
One of our favorite tactics? Using flowers for self-care. There are many ways to do this, let’s chat about a few!
Surrounding yourself with beauty
One of our favorite ways of using flowers for self care is through surrounding ourselves with their beauty! We’re lucky to look at beautiful blooms on our flower farms, but we also enjoy bouquets inside.
Do you want to enjoy a weekly bouquet of flowers fresh from our farm? Learn more about the Sweet Earth Co. Flower CSA right over here.
Flower baths
Another self-care option involving florals is a flower bath — a luxurious way to enjoy a hot bath with a touch of nature.
Herbal baths are a great way to relax, detox, soothe, refresh and invigorate. Some of our favorite combinations for flower baths are:
Rose-Scented Geranium, Lavender & Hyssop
Eucalyptus, Calendula & Chamomile
Lavender, Chamomile & Himalayan Pink Salt
Chamomile, Calendula & Oat
To create a flower bath, simply run warm or hot water into your tub, add some epsom salts and an herb infusion. To create an herb infusion use a tea steeper and pour boiling water over the bag and steep for 20-30 minutes. Then, pour the herbal infusion into your water.
Or, if you’d like, you can place florals right into the water!
Growing flowers
Another of our personal favorites is — of course — growing flowers!
Our founder and lead floral designer Xenia personally finds a lot of nourishment in flower farming.
“At Sweet Earth Co. we believe that being around flowers and connecting with nature have the power to bring JOY, INSPIRATION & HEALING. That’s why we do what we do, and we love it!”
If you want to dive more into growing flowers yourself, learn about our upcoming workshops or visit our resources page.
So we know that being around flowers is fun, inspiring, and calming, but is there any science behind that?
Yes, there is!
A study by the University of North Florida found that living with flowers significantly reduces daily stress, as reported by Cision. According to Cision, “These new findings follow decades of behavioral research studies conducted by researchers at universities including Harvard, Rutgers and Texas A&M that demonstrate flowers' ability to make people happy, strengthen feelings of compassion, foster creativity and even provide a boost of energy.”
Learn more about the powerful mood-boosting effects of flowers in this research study done by researchers Jeannette Haviland-Jones and husband Terry McGuire.
Also, did you know flowers can improve memory, concentration, and even productivity? Learn more in this article by Flower Kingdom about these (and many more) benefits!
So what does this all mean? Simply put, flowers can make you happier! Learn more in this article by About Flowers.
Wishing you a happy spring and summer filled with flowers!
