NASHUA – Today, Fortin Gage Flowers and Gifts will join dozens of florists nationwide to surprise unsuspecting passersby in downtown Nashua with two free flower bouquets each – one to keep and one to give to a friend, family member, colleague or even a stranger.

The random-acts-of-kindness effort, called Petal It Forward, is designed to help people enjoy their day with more kindness and less stress. The effort illustrates research from the University of North Florida showing flowers reduce stress.

Jody Gage, owner of Fortin Gage, jumped at the opportunity to be part of the mood-boosting effort across the Nashua community.

“This is Fortin Gage’s fourth year driving the the Petal It Forward movement across Nashua, and we’ll once again be joined by Mayor Jim Donchess to surprise dozens of people with fresh flower bouquets,” Gage said. “Through the positivity of flowers, we hope to make someone’s day brighter, and provide a much-needed moment of calm amidst the hectic pace of life,” he added.

Gage explained the original idea behind Petal It Forward’s “keep one, share one” concept, which started in 2015, came after looking at statistics that showed while 80% of people reported receiving flowers makes them happy, even more (88%) said that giving flowers makes them happy.

“We want to give people the chance to experience both,” Gage said.

“Petal It Forward is the floral industry’s way of giving back,” Jenny Scala, SAF’s director of marketing and communications, said, citing the effort was purposefully planned for a Wednesday to help the mid-week slump.

For research on all of the health benefits of flowers, visit aboutflowers.com/research.