Why we give flowers to those in grief – or buy them for ourselves when we’re sad

By Karen Anderson, Unit Coordinator, Lecturer and Clinical Supervisor, Counselling and Psychotherapy Courses, Edith Cowan University

During his renowned excavations at the Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, American archaeologist Ralph Solecki located burial sites with uncovered pollen and flower fragments from various species of wildflowers. He interpreted this as evidence that Neanderthals may have placed flowers around their dead at their burial sites around 60,000 years ago.

Through the ages, flowers have provided comfort for numerous reasons – biological,…

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