Flowers hold special place in our lives

FLOWERS are the most beautiful gifts of Nature and the joy of life.

We all admire various kinds of flowers and include them in our day to day lives such as in rituals, decorating our offices and homes and in weddings. Some kinds of flowers have a special place in coronations, rituals, and celebrations. On Birthdays we wish our dear and near ones with a bouquet of Flowers. Flowers have always blessed life on earth and will always be there to give and receive and convey "I care for you".
The language of flowers has different meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. Since time immemorial it has triggered of the imagination and inspiration of numerous poets, artists and writers. Flowers can help us express our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, they do the needful when words fail to convey.
Flowers have the ability to influence our emotions and affect our moods. According to recent 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. The study further revealed that flowers have an immediate impact on our happiness, they have a longtime positive effect on our moods and make intimate connections.
Over the years Flowers have developed meanings and are not selected randomly. Different flowers are selected to convey different emotions for example, the acacia flowers are given to express concealed love, chaste love or beauty the aster flowers symbolize both love and daintiness a pink carnation means I will never forget you while the yellow says rejection or disappointment and the tulip says you have sunshine in your smile.

The colors of flowers have meaning and speak a language that is their own such as :
a) Violet flowers induce calm and peace.
b) Orange flowers signify flames of desire.
c) Purple flowers mean love at first sight.
d) Red sets the pulse racing and is known to induce passions
e) Blue is calming to the mind and soul. This color is known to lower blood pressure and relieve hypertension.
f) Green is nurturing and relaxes the mind and body.
g) Pink soothes and is like a salve, cool and calm.
h) Yellow denotes friendship and is energetic and spreads sunshine.
i) White flowers stand for peace and reverence
j) We say thanks with Peach flowers
k) Pink are the flowers of appreciation.
There are scientific as well as traditional interpretations that flowers do have healing properties too. Dr. Roger Ulrich, an environmental psychologist at Texas A&M University, who was the first American to research and study the benefits of plants on hospital patients, found that when plants were visible to these patients, their levels of stress were reduced, their need for pain medications decreased and hospital stays were shorter with increased sense of optimism and physical well-being of the patients.
As a result of his work, a new approach to hospital environments has emerged with the creation of "patient friendly" health care facilities. Now, plants and flowers are regularly included among these facilities to assist in the healing of their patients.