Bluebells and other spring flowers can be nature's antidote to stressful
times
[April 24, 2025]
By RAF CASERT
HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple
bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech
leaves of the Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of color that draws
crowds from around the world.
And in these times full of stress and anxiety about wars, economic
threats and other tensions, he found something else too: a sense of
tranquility.
“I notice that there’s a lot of silence in my head when I’m done,” Gui
said. “Yeah, it helps me keep some peace in my mind, really just take my
mind away from everything that’s going on.”
Spending time in nature, experts have long said, can be a balm in
troubled times.
“From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the
wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits,
including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of
psychiatric disorders, and even upticks in empathy and cooperation,” a
2020 article of the American Psychological Association said.
“These are extraordinary times,” said Ignace Glorieux, a sociology
professor at Brussels University, adding that the under-30 generation in
particular is under pressure.
“This is also the generation maybe that suffered most from the COVID
crisis,” Glorieux said. “And now they come into a situation where
there’s a lot of international uncertainty. So especially this group,
maybe more than (the older) generation, is suffering from that and feels
very uncertain about their future.”
Gui, 26, knows what Glorieux is talking about. “I do know of people my
age who are worried and also with financial situations going on, who try
to keep level heads, but it’s very hard for them,” he said.
The bluebell woods offer a ‘big green hug’
During the pandemic, the bluebell woods were closed off for fear that
throngs of people would make it a hive of transmission instead of a
haven of peace. Restrictions kept some parks under seal and mandated
masks in some others.
“It was a difficult period for everyone,” said Mark Demesmaeker, a
former member of the European Parliament, gardening enthusiast and city
councilor in Halle, where he has walked the woods for decades. Now, at
least, nature is there to welcome those with anxious minds.
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Two women ride horses in a path full of bluebells, also known as
wild hyacinth, in the Hallerbos forest, south of Brussels, Belgium,
on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
 “These bluebells — but in other
times of year as well, walking here, the forest valleys, the
wildlife, the forest streams — you know, they work into your mind
all year round. And it’s really a big green hug that you get here,”
Demesmaeker said.
That hug from nature is just about everywhere right now. Japan is
awash in a sea of cherry blossoms, which mesmerize people around the
world. Bluebell season also coincides with the prime tulip season in
the Netherlands. The renowned Keukenhof garden there has become a
playground for influencers and those seeking that ultimate selfie.
Put down the phone?
The Keukenhof and the Dutch tourism board suggest good spots to
“make your image come alive.”
To Glorieux, that's where 21st-century humans push it too far.
“We have to be busy all the time, even in our leisure time,” he
said. “We have to perform."
Instead, he advised, “Focus! If you go out walking, focus on
walking. If you go out jogging, focus only on jogging.”
Such advice was not wasted on Philippe Thiry, 64, a southern Belgian
recently retired and ready to embrace the rest of his life. He had
no phone as he set off in the sunshine to look for bluebells.
“I don’t want to use it here because I’m here just to relax,” he
said. “I mean, just to see the flowers and to see, to listen to the
birds.”
“I want to be disconnected.”
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