Why grief draws us to flowers
Flowers trigger calming brain responses and let people show care without difficult conversations.
When words fail during grief, a bunch of flowers says what's hard to speak. Flowers lower stress levels and trigger calming chemical responses in our brains.
Flowers have textures, colours, scent and shapes that soothe us and lift our mood. Archaeological evidence suggests Neanderthals may have placed flowers at burial sites around 60,000 years ago.
In Japan, chrysanthemums mark death and reincarnation. In France, Germany, Italy and Malta, they're reserved for the dead.
Australian Indigenous peoples weave native flowers into mourning customs. Spending time with flowers or looking at them eases mental fatigue, research shows.
Flowers fade, which reminds us that life is temporary and death is natural.
- around 60,000 years ago
- Neanderthal burials
- Shanidar Cave, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
- Location
- Ralph Solecki
- Archaeologist
- death and reincarnation
- Japan chrysanthemum meaning
Why it mattersUnderstanding why flowers comfort us helps us support ourselves and others through loss.
AustraliaAustralian Indigenous peoples use native flowers and plants as part of Sorry Business mourning rituals.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
