For the past few years, Maria Navarrete-Olvera, the owner of Zena Florist, has made it her mission to spread some Kennett kindness by bringing local shops complimentary flowers during July, which is American Grown Flowers Month, writes Jen Samuel for the Daily Local News. 

Zena Florist, which has locations in Kennett Square and Toughkenamon, started handing out flowers at the start of the pandemic in order to boost positivity and appreciation in the community. 

“Receiving flowers has been proven to be a scientific mood booster. Researchers have noticed that, when giving the gift of flowers or plants, people physically and emotionally show their ‘true smile’ — they trigger chemicals in the brain,” said Navarrete-Olvera. 

Businesses—including small shop owners along State Street, law enforcement officers, and visitors at La Verona, Lily’s Asian Cuisine, the Mushroom Cap and Talula’s Table—received bright yellow sunflowers this past Tuesday. 

“Any act of kindness typically has ripple effects that can be as simple as improving an individual’s attitude and outlook at that given moment or as great as being a turning point to a person whose life may unknowingly be spiraling downward,” said Chief of Police William Holdsworth of the Kennett Square Police Department. 

Read more about Zena Florist in the Daily Local News.