There is something almost magical about walking into a room and seeing a beautiful bunch of colourful flowers.

A flash of yellow catches your eye. Bright pinks and oranges instantly lift the space. Soft blues and whites make everything feel calmer and before you've even had time to think about it, you feel something.

That is the wonderful thing about flowers. They don't just look beautiful, they create a feeling.

There is actually some fascinating science behind why.

Flowers can change the way we feel

Our brains respond to colour incredibly quickly. We don't have to consciously decide that a colour is cheerful or calming before it starts influencing how we feel.

Research has found that bright, warm colours such as yellow and orange are often associated with happiness, energy and excitement, while cooler colours such as blue and green tend to be linked with calmness and relaxation.

This makes perfect sense when you think about some of the flowers we naturally describe as uplifting.

Sunflowers, yellow tulips, golden roses and bright ranunculus all have that wonderful sunshine feeling.

There is something about a room filled with yellow flowers that seems to make the light feel brighter and perhaps that's not just in our heads.

The sunshine effect

Yellow has strong associations with sunshine, warmth and summer. We've been surrounded by these associations for as long as we can remember.

We see yellow and think of sunlight.

We see spring flowers appearing after winter and think of brighter days ahead.

We see a vase of cheerful yellow flowers on the kitchen table and for a moment, the whole room can feel more optimistic.

Studies into colour and flowers have found that bright, saturated colours can create particularly strong positive emotional responses, with vivid yellows among the colours associated with feelings such as joy and vitality.

So when we say that yellow flowers bring sunshine into a room, there is a little more to it than a pretty phrase.

Not all happiness feels the same

One of the things I love about flowers is that happiness doesn't always have to mean bright, bold and energetic.

Think about the difference between receiving a vibrant bouquet of orange and coral flowers and receiving a soft arrangement of pale blue, white and green.

Both can make you happy, but they create completely different feelings.

The first might make you feel excited, energised and ready to celebrate.

The second might make you feel peaceful, relaxed and content.

Psychologists sometimes describe this as the difference between high and low arousal.

High-arousal happiness is the feeling of excitement and energy, the sort of feeling you might have at a party or celebration.

Low-arousal happiness is quieter. It's the feeling of sitting in the garden with a cup of tea, feeling completely at ease.

Flowers can create both.

That is why choosing colour is such an important part of creating a beautiful bouquet.

Flowers can even help us feel less stressed

There is also evidence that flowers and natural surroundings can have a calming effect on our bodies.

Research has found that looking at flowers can be associated with lower stress and changes in the body's stress response, including reduced cortisol, one of the hormones involved in our response to stress.

Which perhaps explains something we've all experienced.

You've had a long, difficult day. You walk through the door and there's a beautiful bunch of flowers waiting for you.

You stop.

You look at them.

Maybe you smell them.

Just for a moment, everything feels a little bit better.

It's not necessarily that the flowers have solved anything.

They've simply given your brain something beautiful to notice.

Sometimes, that's enough to change the feeling of a moment.

But flowers are personal too

Of course, we don't all respond to flowers in exactly the same way.

That's because our memories matter.

Perhaps your grandmother always grew roses.

Maybe blue hydrangeas remind you of holidays.

Maybe your wedding flowers were peonies.

Maybe your mum's favourite flower was a daffodil.

Suddenly, that flower isn't just a flower.

It carries a memory.

Our brains build these associations throughout our lives, which is why flowers can be so incredibly emotional. The same colour or flower can make two people feel completely different things.

There are some general patterns, bright yellows and oranges tend to feel uplifting, while greens and blues often feel more restful but our own experiences add another layer of meaning.

I think that's what makes flowers so special.

We're not really choosing flowers. We're choosing a feeling.

When you choose a bouquet for someone, you're rarely just thinking about the flowers themselves.

You're thinking about how you want them to feel.

A bright, colourful bouquet might say:

I want to make you smile.

Soft pastel flowers might say:

I want to bring you some calm.

Romantic reds and pinks might say:

I love you.

A wild mix of colours might say:

Let's celebrate!

Sometimes, a bouquet simply needs to bring a little brightness to someone's day.

That's why flowers feel so emotional.

They are wrapped up in our memories, our senses and our associations. Their colours catch our attention, their scent can transport us somewhere else and their presence can change the atmosphere of a room.

Flowers don't just decorate a space. They create a feeling.

Perhaps that's the real reason we love giving them, receiving them and filling our homes with them.

Because sometimes, the simplest way to say I'm thinking of you, I'm celebrating with you or I want you to feel better...

...is with something beautiful that makes you feel.