Tidbits and News
Landscaping Improves Air Quality
Trees, shrubs and turf remove smoke, dust and other pollutants from the
air. One tree can remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually, equaling 11,000 miles of car emissions. One study showed that one acre of trees has the ability to remove 13 tons of particles and gasses annually. Furthermore, 2,500 square feet of turf absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases enough oxygen for a family of four to breathe.
Flower Power
We all know that flowers can cheer us up and make us feel better overall. Now a research team at Kansas State University led by Euuhee Kim has shown through a series of experiments that just looking at flowers may 
reduce stress and increase pain tolerance.
In one experiment, female students were each randomly assigned to simulated hospital rooms, either with flowers, with foliage plants only, or with no plants at all. Using a common pain tolerance test of having the students immerse their hands into 32 degree water, it was found that the women in the room with flowers consistently were able to keep their hands in the cold water longer (indicating better pain tolerance) and reported feeling less pain.
In another experiment, women asked to do a timed computer-typing task experienced less stress in an office with flowers when compared to 
performing the same task in an office with green plants or no plants. The stress was both measured by brain waves and by moods as reported by the women.
As reported in the May, 2004, Harvard Health Letter, Kim 
thinks that flowers may work their magic by eliciting positive emotions that hold our attention, distracting us from sources of stress. Of course as of now it is not known whether this response is genetically transmitted or cultural.
This study reaffirms what most of us already know--that time and money invested in beautifying our surroundings by planting flowers is well spent. The homeowner not only gets a lift every time he returns home or looks out the window, but passers-by also feel better without even knowing why. Who knows? Maybe a pretty yard can help prevent road rage! And, taking a fresh-cut bouquet of flowers to the
hospital is not just an empty gesture but will actually make the patient and those working in the room feel better.
Never underestimate FLOWER POWER!
Fragrant Memories
If you need motivation to beautify your yard with roses, a recent study in the journal Science should help get you started. The study tested the memory of groups of medical students by having them play a version of Concentration where they memorized the location of pairs of playing cards on a computer screen. At the end of the game the students were given a burst of rose scent through masks they wore, and then they went to sleep about half an hour later.
While in REM sleep, the students were given blasts of rose fragrance
which did not wake them and they did not remember receiving when they did awake. Their scores averaged 97% when they played after receiving the rose fragrance in their sleep as opposed to their average of 86% when they had not received the rose fragrance.
The moral? Plant roses in your yard, especially outside your bedroom window. Their beauty and lovely fragrance will not only please you during the day but they may help enhance your memory while you sleep!
