The Effect of Flowers
In the chapter
Evolutionary Psychology
it stated that every trait of character, every emotion and every form of behavior that is shared by mankind, regardless race or culture, is part of the human genetic pool and most of those that remain in the genetic pool of the modern person contributed to survival and procreation
of our ancestors. Since in many studies it was found that human love flowers, regardless race or culture can we assume that the love of flowers contributed to the survival and procreation of our ancestors?
Flower fossils dating back 120,000 years have recently been found. Archeologists have uncovered a grave site in a cave in Iraq that indicates that Neanderthals of the Pleistocene cave-dwelling epoch may have placed bunches of flowers on grave sites. The
pollen found at the grave site under study indicates a wide range of flowers were present as part of the burial ritual. Rose wreaths have also been unearthed in ancient Egyptian tombs. The lotus also played an important symbolic role in Egyptian religion. In addition, ancient
Confucian and Buddhist religious documents contain references to roses. In ancient Rome, flower festivals were held in honor of the goddess Flora. Both men and women were awarded flower wreaths for victory in athletic competitions. For the Romans, the rose was associated with the goddess Venus. Nero, the Roman emperor in the 1st century AD, literally used tons of rose petals to impress his dinner guests. Cleopatra had her living quarters filled with rose petals to impress Marc Anthony. Roman women believed that roses would remove wrinkles if used in poultices. Victorious Roman armies would be showered with rose petals as they paraded through the streets.
All forms of art depict the use of flowers: paintings, sculpture, ceramics, tapestries, etc. It may be assumed that the primitive brain does not distinguish between a real flower to symbols of a flowers, as it is appear in art work.
It is believed that the art of making paper flowers originated in China and goes way back as 2,000 years ago soon after paper was invented. The Chinese started making paper flowers, which would float in containers of water, to be used for religious offerings, but as time evolved they were also used as a creative channel for meditation and came to be recognized as one of four arts the high-born Chinese man strived to master. Nowadays most of the silk flowers have been imported from China, Thailand and other countries due to the labor cost consideration. Also due to a lot of modern new materials such as polyester, latex, polyresin have been developed, the new generation of silk flowers, could
look very realistic that people sometimes mistake them as real ones.
Pressed flower art became popular in Victorian times. In the Victorian days women started making paper flower when the real flowers were
out of season. They made these flowers by unraveling a real flower and drawing pictures of them on paper, which they used as a template. The stems were made with wire covered with green tissue paper, because in those days floral tape was probably not yet invented. They used these flowers to decorate various rooms in their homes. It was also a favorite pastime for these women who in those days were limited in their social activities.
The appeal of flower paintings is timeless and crosses all national boundaries. Top publishers continue to find that flower paintings are
successful in nearly all markets and in nearly all price ranges. Not only do flower paintings cross all demographic groups, but flower paintings appeal to people in all age groups as well. Approximately 65% of all decorative retail art is flower paintings. Flower paintings were everywhere: murals, fabrics, costumes, calligraphic art, illustrations, interior accessories and more. In addition, some flowers are associated with particular artists. Georgia O'Keeffe is best known for her sensuous calla. Van Gogh, treated each blossom as if it were a
full-fledged portrait. He is most famous for his flower paintings featuring sunflowers, but he also painted a number of other flowers in his still-life works. Claude Monet is famous for his water lilies. His flower paintings are bright and colorful. Each piece of color is distinct brush stroke. The result is a shimmering effect that has helped to keep his flower paintings among the most popular and recognizable images of all time.
In scientific studies it was found that being exposed to real flowers or to flowers in art work has a significant effect on our mood and
health.
Recently, researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, released the results of a six-month behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study demonstrates that flowers ease depression, inspire social networking and refresh memory as we age. Specifically, 81% of seniors who participated in the study reported a reduction in depression following the receipt of flowers. Forty percent of seniors reported broadening their social contacts beyond their normal social circle of family and close friends. And, 72% of the seniors who received flowers scored very high on memory tests in comparison with seniors who did not receive flowers.
A behavioral research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that
people feel more compassionate toward others, have less worry and anxiety, and feel less depressed when fresh cut flowers are present in the home. Participants most frequently placed flowers in their kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms, where they spend a lot of time at home. They reported wanting to see the blooms first thing in the morning.
According to a
study
(2008) the plants and flowers in hospital rooms posses healing properties, in particular for those who are recovering from surgery. It was made a study on 90 patients recovering from appendectomy. They were assigned to different hospital rooms, some rooms were with flowers, while other had no plants at all. During this study doctors made notes on recovery period, heart rate level, and temperature, blood pressure, perceived level of pain, fatigue and anxiety levels. Thus, it was found out that patients living in rooms with plants had faster recovery
from abdominal surgery, took fewer medicines against pain, and had lower anxiety levels. In fact, these patients were much more satisfied.
Since it was established that people love flowers, regardless of their culture, race and gender, and flowers effect mood and health positively, we can conclude that the love of flower is a genetic emotion. Since it is genetic, it may be assumed that it helped the survival of our ancestors. I suggest the following hypothesis: When our ancestors, who lived in the woods, saw in early spring many flowers, instinctively they knew that it was a rainy session and they are going to have plenty of food such as fruits, vegetables and more animals to hunt. As a result, more women would be impregnated and more children would survive. Their positive mood decreased their level of stress hormone, and increased the level of their immune system. As a result, they healed faster from infections and they were happier and healthier.
My recommendation is to have any sort of flowers at home and in the work place: real flowers, pictures or painting of flowers or artificial
flowers. All kinds of flowers will help us to experience "less stress and more happiness."