Flowers are beautiful to look at, but did you know that some flowers can hear? Or that many flowers are edible? Here at De Duinroos, we've been passionate about flowers for over 95 years, and they still manage to surprise us! Read on for 13 fascinating facts about flowers!

1. Roses are delicious and edible

Rose petals aren't just beautiful to look at; they're also delicious to eat! The petals of organic roses have been used in cooking for centuries. In Persian cuisine, for example, they're made into syrup, while in the Netherlands, they're mixed into salads to add a subtle, sweet flavour. They're healthy, too — many roses contain more vitamin C than oranges! Rosewater is still used in Turkish and Arabic desserts. Did you also know that roses are related to apples, pears, cherries and almonds? They all belong to the same family.

Please note: only use unsprayed roses, and avoid those from the florist as they are often treated with chemicals. So, don't eat our rose bouquets!

2. Sunflowers are true sun worshippers!

Young sunflowers actually turn their golden heads to follow the sun, a phenomenon known as heliotropism. It's truly a wonder to behold! As adults, however, they stop this behaviour and generally remain facing east to catch the first morning rays and attract bees.

3. Lavender is your natural bodyguard

Not only is the wonderful scent of lavender good for us, it also naturally repels mosquitoes. So why not put a bunch of lavender on your bedside table instead of using a spray? It's a natural, fragrant way to keep mosquitoes at bay without chemicals!

4. Tulips are actually immigrants

Although the Netherlands is world-famous for its tulips, these beautiful flowers originally came from the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey). In the 17th century, our enthusiasm for tulips reached such a fever pitch that a "tulip mania" emerged, marking the first real speculation bubble in history! Tulip bulbs became more expensive than gold or houses. A single special tulip bulb could cost ten times a skilled worker's annual salary. The bubble eventually burst, but luckily, we're still just as in love with these cheerful spring flowers. Want to know more about tulips? Then check out our tulip facts!

5. Flowers instantly make you happier

It's been scientifically proven that people feel happier and experience less stress in a room with flowers. Even after just a few minutes! Researchers at Rutgers University discovered that flowers elicit a genuine smile (the Duchenne smile) in people. The effect lasts for days: women who received flowers reported a better mood three days later. Elderly people in care facilities even showed improved memory and increased social interaction when flowers were present.

6. Some flowers are true chameleons

Hydrangeas are the most fascinating colour changers: they turn pink or blue depending on the acidity of the soil. Blue hydrangeas grow in acidic soil and pink ones grow in alkaline soil. This means that you can make the same plant produce flowers of different colours by adjusting the soil! Some gardeners add coffee grounds to produce blue flowers or lime to produce pink ones. Beautiful purple variations appear somewhere between pink and blue. They are a living pH indicator in your garden, showing how wonderfully nature works!

7. The largest flower takes a long time to appear

The Titan Arum, also known as the 'corpse flower', is the world's largest flower. This giant only blooms once every ten years and, as you might have guessed, smells of rotting flesh. Luckily, at De Duinroos, we have flowers that smell wonderful!

8. Bees see flowers like a disco ball

They recognise ultraviolet patterns on flowers that are completely invisible to us. These secret 'landing strips' lead them straight to the nectar. Flowers look completely different to bees than they do to us. They can see patterns, stripes and spots that we will never see. Some flowers even have bullseye patterns under UV light! Bees can also sense the electric fields emitted by flowers. When a bee lands on a flower, this changes the electric field, alerting other bees that the flower has already been visited. So flowers are much smarter than we realise!

9. Flowers can hear

Recent research shows that some flowers vibrate in response to the sound of bees and then produce more nectar. They can actually hear their visitors approaching! Nature never ceases to amaze us with its ingenious solutions.

10. Some flowers smell like chocolate

One of the rarest flowers in the world, the chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus), truly smells like chocolate! This dark red flower contains vanillin, which is also found in cocoa. Its scent is strongest on warm, sunny days, intensifying as the day goes on. This species originated in Mexico, but it became extinct in the wild over 100 years ago. All the Chocolate Cosmos in existence today are clones of a single plant that survived in Kew Gardens in England. New varieties have recently been bred, but they remain rare. Unfortunately, you can only smell this chocolatey scent — the flower is not suitable for human consumption.

11. Broccoli is actually a giant flower

The part of the plant that we eat is actually a giant flower bud! Broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are all immature flower heads. If you leave broccoli for too long, tiny yellow florets will emerge. This is how you end up with thousands of tiny flowers on your plate!

12. The world's smallest flower can fit 20 times on a pinhead

The Wolffia globosa is so tiny that you could fit 20 of them on the head of a pin. These tiny aquatic plants may be small, but they play an important role in their ecosystem. Proof that even the smallest flowers can be significant!

13. Some orchids deceive insects

Orchids are masters of deception. Some species mimic the scent and appearance of female insects to attract males. The hammer orchid from Australia, for example, mimics a female wasp. The male wasp attempts to mate with the flower and becomes covered in pollen. Other orchids mimic the scent of bee pheromones or pretend to be a male's territory. Some orchids even attract flies with the scent of rotting meat! These clever yet somewhat devious tricks of nature enable orchids to reproduce without producing nectar.