TAMPA, Fla. — As 9-to-5ers in downtown Tampa trudged to work Wednesday morning, a small army of happy people greeted them with a gift: free flowers — roses to be exact.
Eight hundred bouquets.
The flower giveaway all to prove a new study that says flowers are instant mood enhancers, especially for women.
“Flowers are good for the soul,” says Ian Prosser of Botanica International Design Studio, leading his staff with several wagons stuffed with instant floral joy.
The movement by the Society of American Florists is called Petal It Forward, a gesture of warmth and goodwill that some people didn’t trust at all.
At least not at first.
What’s the catch, they wondered.
“I think sometimes people’s fears do come out,” says Margot, one of Botanica’s merry staffers.
But once people hear “free” and realize this is not a gimmick, they “shift” fast, she says.
Prosser says women are more receptive than men to the free bouquets, which is also what the new data says.
Significant others should take note.
“Unexpected flowers” can provide the biggest mood boost of all.
