Bangor florist helps ‘Petal It Forward’

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Spreading love and kindness, one stem at a time.

That is what florists around the country were doing Wednesday, Oct. 15 as part of the ‘Petal It Forward’ initiative.

“We are spreading smiles and sunshine across Bangor,” said Heather Murray of Bangor Floral.

Bangor Floral joined more than 500 florist industry businesses nationwide to spread happiness through flowers during the annual event.

Now, in its 11th year the ‘Petal It Forward’ initiative is impacting communities in all 50 states and in several other countries as well.

“I call it the happiest day of my life. {You} can’t beat my job,” Murray said.

The ‘Petal It Forward’ Initiative allows florists to give back to their communities and provide some smiles and stress relief. Research shows that giving and receiving flowers has a positive impact on our emotional wellbeing.

“There’s other research out of Harvard that shows that having flowers in your home lifts your mood and energy. There’s great research related to senior citizens, and we love to see when the ‘Petal It Forward’ participants go to senior homes because we know just really great things are going to happen,” said Kate Penn, CEO of the Society of American Florists (SAF) who organized the event.

“I love seeing people smile. I’ve had people hug me. I’ve had people start to cry. It’s just the best feeling ever,” Murray told WABI.

You can learn more about the initiative here.