Health · Mental Health · 6 hrs ago
Psychiatrist says flowers engage brain circuits linked to romantic love
Psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith says flowers engage brain circuits linked to romantic love.
She also says time in a calm green space, such as a park or garden, can have an immediate stress-reducing effect.
Stuart-Smith is a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has long discussed how gardening can affect people’s lives.
Her book, *The Well-Gardened Mind*, became a bestseller and explores the connection between gardening and mental health.
She was due to take part in the Flora Festival in Córdoba, Spain, which ran from 12 to 22 October.
Her comments highlight how contact with nature may ease stress; no further plans or next steps are given.
Psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith says the beauty of flowers activates brain circuits linked to romantic love.
Stuart-Smith is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist whose book The Well-Gardened Mind became a bestseller.
She says contact with calm natural settings, such as a park or garden, has an immediate stress-reducing physiological effect.
She was due to take part in the ninth Festival Flora in Córdoba, held from 12 to 22 October.
- Who
- Sue Stuart-Smith, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
- What
- She says the beauty of flowers activates brain circuits linked to romantic love.
- When
- The article was published on 27 October 2026; it does not state when she made the remark.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The ninth Festival Flora was held in Córdoba, where Stuart-Smith was due to participate.
Hola published its interview with Stuart-Smith.
- Interviewee
- Sue Stuart-Smith
- Festival
- Ninth Festival Flora
- Festival location
- Córdoba
- Festival dates
- 12–22 October
- Article publication
- 27 October 2026
What people are saying
The beauty of flowers activates in the brain the same circuits as romantic love
There is absolute certainty: being in contact with calm nature — I’m not talking about a jungle, but a green landscape, a park or a garden — triggers an immediate anti-stress physiological effect