Catching Up: Study Finds Fresh Flowers Improve Health; My Weekly Flowers; My New iMac!

I was having a hard day the other day and at noon, Toby came home and brought me these. They were really, really appreciated. And, yes, they did help brighten my day, as did his thoughtfulness and love. 

Well, add this to the growing list of blog posts I've written chronicling this very important research! I say that only slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I think we almost all know this instinctively. I posted recently about a study showing having a plant on your desk was healthy. I mentioned there that the study about plants on your desk "goes along with other studies showing how nature helps our health both physically and mentally. I've blogged about this here and here."

Now, there is a study showing that fresh flowers around you have the same effect and can even aid in recovery in the hospital. From the article:

According to the study, those exposed to flowers had lower blood pressure and heart rate, lower ratings of pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and more positive feelings and higher satisfaction about their rooms than the patients without foliage. The findings from this research actually suggests that flowers should be "complementary medicine" for recovering patients.... 

Bouquets of flowers can actually also make us feel less stressed out, according to a study published in Complementary Therapies In Medicine. The study gave college-aged women a fresh vase of roses for their dorm rooms, and the results included the subjects feeling more relaxed and stress-free than before.

More and more science is "proving" what so many in generations before us knew as a matter of common sense. We now have studies here on Kassiblog, too! about how living near parks and green spaces reduce stress and overall improves well-being, having a plant on your desk helps, and now fresh flowers do, too!

Not only that, but plants and flowers are pretty and add so much to your home and office for very little investment. We need to appreciate beauty for the sake of nothing else, but beauty!

Recently, these were my weekly flowers. The bottom arrangement was a "re-arrangement" of an older one. I took out the flowers that were far too spent and put them in a smaller vase to get more life out of them. If you do this, you'll be amazed at how long you can keep arrangements going. 

These flowers were from Central Market's 3-for-$10 section. They had almost nothing there last Sunday. I inquired as to why and, apparently, weather ruined many flowers from their growers. I found these roses and some Campanulas. I was quite happy, the latter being among my favorites. I do not often buy roses, especially the miniature ones, because they only last a few days. But these were relatively inexpensive and I loved the variegated ones. 

Here are the Campanulas in the background with a Toby-made Mai Tai in the foreground. He has mastered the authentic Hawaiian Mai Tai. The Campanulas are still going strong since I was able to buy them in very tight buds. ⬇️

Here my Campanulas are today, a week later, fully bloomed. Below them are a couple of little Primroses I bought for $1.99 each. 

All these studies just prove Muir a genius. The National Forest Service tweeted this just this week, which I loved. Having plants in our home does a bit of this. 

If we can't be out in nature as often as we'd like (or NEED TO!), we can at least keep it near us in plant-life and on our screens. Here is my new iMac with its giant 27-inch 5K Retina display (whatever all that means). What I know and understand is that it is awesome and clear and my favorite WebCams have never looked better! Toby set it up for me when I was in Houston week before last. I'm loving it. It's also lightning fast. It has improved my beloved Desk even more. 

Thanks for reading!