The Science-Backed Benefits of Keeping Plants and Flowers at Home

We don’t think a bunch of flowers has to change your life.

Sometimes, it just needs to change the feeling of a room.

A few stems on the table can make you pause before rushing out the door. A new leaf on your windows will gives you something to notice. Watering a plant becomes a small ritual in the middle of a busy day. Even a little more green around you can make a space feel softer, warmer and more alive.

There’s a growing body of research around something we’ve always intuitively understood: being around nature can have a positive effect on how we feel. Plants and flowers can help create calmer spaces, support our mood and give our attention somewhere to rest.

Of course, a vase of flowers isn’t going to solve all your problems. But perhaps it doesn’t have to.

Perhaps flowers can simply make an ordinary Tuesday feel a little nicer. A plant can give you a reason to look up from your screen. And bringing a little bit of the outside in can be a small, everyday way of feeling more connected to the world around you.

We like the idea that nature doesn’t always have to be grand.

Sometimes, it’s just a flower on the table.

5 Ways Plants and Flowers Can Affect How You Feel

1. Being around plants may help your body shift out of “work mode”

Think about how much of the day is spent looking at a screen, answering messages, moving between tabs and trying to keep up.

Then there’s the very different rhythm of looking after something living.

Touching soil. Trimming a stem. Watering a plant. Changing the water in a vase. Noticing that a new leaf has appeared since yesterday

A small 2015 experiment asked young adults to complete a computer task and separately, to transplant an indoor plant. After the plant task, participants reported feeling more comfortable and relaxed. Researchers also observed changes in physiological measures associated with the body’s stress response.

Another study examining very small amounts of indoor greenery found a modest benefit for emotional recovery after stress, although it did not find a corresponding improvement in cognitive recovery.

That distinction matters. Plants aren’t magic. But interacting with something living can create a genuinely different kind of sensory experience from staring at another screen.

Sometimes the benefit is simply having a small interruption in the rhythm of a stressful day.

Water the plant. Change the vase water. Remove a fading leaf. Then go back to whatever you were doing. Two minutes can feel surprisingly restorative.

2. Flowers appear to have a particularly interesting relationship with positive emotion

Green foliage is calming in its own way. Flowers add something else: colour, fragrance, change and a sense of occasion-even when there isn’t one.

In a well-known series of experiments published in Evolutionary Psychology, researchers led by Jeannette Haviland-Jones studied people’s responses to receiving flowers.

Participants who received flowers showed positive emotional reactions, and one experiment found that women who received flowers reported more positive moods several days later. Other parts of the study found changes in social behaviour and positive responses among older adults as well.

Separate physiological studies have explored what happens when people simply look at fresh flowers.

Research involving fresh roses found that visual exposure was associated with physiological changes consistent with relaxation, alongside participants reporting feeling more comfortable and relaxed.

There is also evidence that fragrance can contribute to the experience. Experiments involving the scent of fresh roses and fragrant flowering plants have reported changes in measures associated with relaxation and more positive subjective feelings.

None of that means looking at a rose treats anxiety. It does suggest something much simpler:

Beauty can affect us before we’ve consciously decided to pay attention to it.

That may explain why fresh flowers often change the emotional feel of a room far more than their physical size would suggest.

If you’re interested in the emotional side of flowers specifically, we’ve explored it further in What Gifting Flowers Does to the Brain.

3. Indoor greenery can make a room feel less mentally demanding

Why does a plant-filled corner often feel easier to sit in than a completely bare one?

One explanation comes from the broader idea of biophilia: the tendency for human beings to seek connection with nature and natural systems.

Modern biophilic design takes that idea into homes, offices, hotels and healthcare spaces through elements such as greenery, daylight, natural textures, views of nature and water.

Research into indoor plants specifically is still developing, and results vary depending on the study and outcome being measured. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on indoor plants found evidence of benefits across some physiological and cognitive outcomes, but not every measured effect was consistent. For example, results relating to attention varied substantially between studies.

That is important because “plants make you more productive” is far too absolute a claim.
A better interpretation is this:

Natural elements may help create environments that people experience as more pleasant, restorative or comfortable-and that can matter when you’re trying to think or work.

Studies of office environments similarly suggest that contact with nature at work can relate to well-being, environmental satisfaction and aspects of job stress, although results depend heavily on the workplace and how greenery is introduced.

So instead of covering your desk with fifteen succulents in pursuit of productivity, start with one thing you actually enjoy looking at.

A small vase next to your monitor. A leafy plant near the reading chair. Fresh flowers somewhere your eyes naturally land when you look away from the screen. The point is not quantity. It is a connection.

4. Caring for something living may be part of the benefit

There is a difference between having a picture of a plant on your wall and having an actual plant that needs you occasionally.

• Living greenery asks for participation.
  
• You notice when the soil becomes dry.
  
• You rotate the pot towards the light.
  
• You cut away an old leaf.
  
• You watch something that looked dormant suddenly produce new growth.
  

Research looking specifically at activities such as transplanting and watering indoor plants has found relaxation-related effects during the interaction itself. A 2023 study examining plant watering reported physiological and psychological responses consistent with relaxation compared with a computer-based task.

This might be one reason plant care feels satisfying to many people: it puts attention somewhere tangible.

Not yesterday. Not next week. On whether this particular plant needs water today. Flower arranging can produce a similar effect. You trim a stem. Move one flower slightly higher. Turn the vase. Remove something that doesn’t belong. The result does not have to be perfect. The activity itself requires just enough attention to interrupt everything else.

And in a home full of devices designed to demand our attention, there is something refreshing about caring for something that doesn’t send notifications.

5. Plants and flowers can change your relationship with a room

Wellness isn’t only about measurable changes in heart rate or questionnaire scores. Our surroundings shape behaviour too. Put fresh flowers on a dining table and you may find yourself wanting to clear away the unopened mail beside them.

Add a plant to an unused corner and suddenly the chair next to it becomes somewhere you actually want to sit. Place a small arrangement beside the bed and the first thing you notice in the morning is colour rather than a phone screen.

Research into residential greenery has found associations between exposure to plants and lower perceived stress, with positive emotion appearing to play a role in that relationship.

But you don’t need to turn your apartment into a greenhouse to explore that idea. In fact, research into small-scale greenery suggests that even limited amounts of planting can influence how people experience a space. A single intentional corner can be enough.

Plants or Fresh Flowers: Which Is Better for Well-Being?

There isn’t a winner. They create different relationships with a space.
Plants are slow.

You live alongside them. New growth appears gradually. Caring for them becomes part of the routine.

Fresh flowers help you stay in the moment.

They arrive, open, transform and eventually fade. That impermanence makes them more noticeable. A plant may become a quiet part of your home.

Flowers often announce themselves. Research exists for both foliage and flowering plants, and some experiments suggest flowers can produce particularly strong emotional responses through colour, form and fragrance. But the best choice is probably the one you genuinely enjoy interacting with. Or don’t choose at all. A leafy plant in the corner and seasonal flowers on the table make very good neighbours.

How to Bring More Green Into Your Home Without Overdoing It

You don’t need an “urban jungle.” Start with the places where you already spend time.

On your work desk

Keep it simple.

A compact foliage plant or a small arrangement of seasonal flowers can add something natural to your field of vision without taking over your workspace.

On the dining table

This is one of the easiest places for flowers because you naturally pass it throughout the day. Choose an arrangement low enough that it doesn’t make dinner conversation an obstacle course.

Beside your reading spot

A larger foliage plant works beautifully near an armchair, window or bookshelf. It creates a visual boundary around the space and makes the corner feel intentional.

In the bedroom

If you enjoy plants in the bedroom and the available light suits them, there’s no need for the arrangement to be elaborate.

One plant or a small vase is enough.

The wellness research doesn’t require you to live inside a forest. Choose plants based on your room conditions, lifestyle, allergies and-if relevant-whether they’re safe around your pets.

In forgotten corners

• This is where greenery often has the biggest visual effect.
  
• That empty console.
  
• The shelf that feels unfinished.
  
• The corner next to the window.
  
• The aim isn’t to fill every surface.
  
• It’s to make a few parts of your home feel more alive.

Why This Idea Has Always Been Close to Urth

Urth comes from two generations of greenhouse growers, so living with plants and flowers isn’t a trend we’ve recently discovered.

It’s where we began. Our philosophy has always been simple: life feels a little better with more nature around us. We’re growers first, working with a farm-direct approach and sustainable growing practices while trying to make flowers and plants easier to bring into everyday spaces.

That might mean a plant you nurture for years. Or it might simply mean fresh seasonal flowers on an ordinary Wednesday.

For those who want something designed specifically around their space, Urth’s Custom Floral Vase Arrangement lets you choose a colour palette and preferences while our designers work with the freshest seasonal flowers available.

Because flowers don’t always need a birthday, anniversary or reason. Sometimes the room is reason enough.

Bring Some Green Into Your Space

You do not need to redesign your home around wellness. Start smaller. Put one plant where you work. Fresh flowers where you eat. Something green beside the chair where you unwind. Then notice how often your eyes find it.

Science can measure heart-rate variability, blood pressure, emotional responses and perceived stress. But perhaps the simplest benefit is harder to put on a graph:

A living thing gives you something pleasant to notice.

And most of us could probably use more of that.

Explore Urth’s collection of plants and fresh flowers, or create a custom floral vase arrangement designed around your space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do plants really reduce stress?

Research suggests that viewing or interacting with indoor plants can reduce perceived stress and influence some physiological measures associated with relaxation. However, the size of the effect varies across studies, so plants should be thought of as one small element of a supportive environment rather than a treatment for stress.

What are the psychological benefits of flowers?

Studies have associated flowers with positive emotional responses, improved self-reported mood and physiological signs of relaxation. Colour, fragrance, visual beauty and the social meaning attached to receiving flowers may all contribute to the experience.

Is it good to have plants in your bedroom?

It can be, particularly if you enjoy seeing and caring for them. Choose plants that suit the room’s light and temperature, and consider allergies and pet safety when selecting varieties. You don’t need a large number of plants-the broader wellness benefit is about creating pleasant contact with nature, not filling every available surface.