The positive effects of flowers have been making news around the country in newspapers, magazines and Web sites this month.

First magazine and NJ.com cite SAF/FPO's Home Ecology of Flowers Study, conducted at Harvard University, which shows people are more likely to feel happier and have more enthusiasm and energy at work when flowers are in their home living environments.

First advises readers to "Send energy soaring with sunshiny blooms" and reports, "According to a Harvard University study, simply being around flowers can restore your usual pep." This article generated 4.6 million consumer impressions.

NJ.com encourages its readers to place flowers in the kitchen for a "lift" in the morning, in its article "Ideas for kitchen flower arrangements."

"Research shows that the sight of fresh flowers can inspire an emotional boost that just might last all day," NJ.com writes. "When you've just stumbled out of bed and are still rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you might benefit from a floral stimulant."

These efforts are a direct result the Home Ecology of Flowers public relations campaign conducted by an alliance of SAF and the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO).

The Indianapolis Star told its male readers "Flowers are your friend, men" around Valentine's Day, advising them that "women are positively affected when given flowers, responding with smiles and a long-term sense of well-being, according to scientific research a few years ago at Rutgers University."

Proof that solid research has a long media shelf life: The newspaper cites research from SAF's Emotional Impact of Flowers Study. The research, conducted in 2000, provides scientific proof that flowers increase happiness and life satisfaction, and lead to increased contact with family and friends.