GARDENING
THE POSITIVE POWER OF FLOWERS By Emma Sousa
Ok so I may be a little biased. I am a florist and flower grower after all but there is definitely something special about flowers and the way they make us feel. I am always talking about being in the great outdoors, the positivity of gardening and the effect it has on our physical and mental wellbeing. Even a 20 minute walk each day amongst nature will lift your spirits and has so many great effects on us that it should be prescribed by doctors to anyone and everyone who enters their surgery! Now more than ever we need to focus on the positive, surround ourselves with nature and, in my humble opinion, reap the rewards of the positive power of flowers! So, what has this actually got to do with a food and drinks magazine I hear you say? Well, apart from all the good things already mentioned above it actually has 64
quite a lot to do with the food we grow and eat. Without flowers and flowering plants there would be less food for pollinators which as we know are a vital part of our fragile eco system. They all help sustain our ecosystems by helping plants to pollinate. Without pollen (flowering plants) and pollinators such as birds, bees and butterflies and even bats, beetles and other small mammals, our natural food systems would essentially collapse. A huge amount of the food we grow relies on pollination and of course flowers are a great source for our native species to feed on throughout the summer months. But what else is so important about flowers? Well, in studies it has been found that they improve episodic memory, especially in older people. Many plants and flowers have special Cibare Magazine
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