Why have flowers at all? By Sarah-Eva Marchese, Floracracy I n 2013, scientists shared a discovery they’d made at a burial site of Natufians, the earliest prehistoric people believed to systematically bury their dead. In these graves, found on Mount Carmel in Israel and dating from between 13,700 and 11,700 BC, scientists found that a number of the dead had been buried on a literal bed of flowers. This discovery answered a longstanding question of when humans started connecting flowers with the ritual of burial: Turns out, we’ve been doing it from the beginning. In recent years, the idea of having flowers at funerals has shifted. Indeed, we even now use the phrase “in lieu of flowers.” But before we move away from this method of honoring someone’s passing, perhaps we should stop and ask why we include flowers in the first place? In losing the flowers, are we losing something more? Why do we include flowers at times of funeral? Are they really needed? Over the last 20 years, new research has shown that perhaps flowers are more than something people have always done (and perhaps shouldn’t do anymore). Rather, it’s possible they play a unique and important role in how we grieve and heal. Flowers help us heal faster According to a study done by Seong-Hyun Park and Richard H. Mattson from the Department of Horticulture, Recreation and Forestry at Kansas State University, people recovering from surgery healed faster and better when in the presence of flowering plants. Those with plants had better physiological responses, less anxiety and fatigue, and overall better recoveries. Of those who had flowering plants in their rooms, 93% said it was the most positive part of their room. Of those who didn’t, 91% said it was the television. The trauma of losing someone involves many of the same experiences as a surgical loss or change. This research indicates that the presence of flowering plants can provide a way to pull individuals from isolation into an interactive and healing experience. Flowers help with isolation and loneliness In a study out of Rutgers, researchers found that flowers gifted to the elderly elicited positive mood improvements and even improved episodic memory. When gifted once, depression and loneliness improved in 50% of the cases. When gifted twice or more, this went up by 80%. www.ogr.org | The Independent® 23
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