Flower Power: How Petals Are Becoming the New Wellness Superstars

Today’s wellness seekers don’t stop at smelling the roses. They drink tea made from the plant and swear by rose-infused water to improve skin tone and minimize sun damage—then head back to the garden to harvest more healing blossoms.

Around the world, guides are helping travelers reap the benefits of native blooms. I was lucky to learn all about this field during a “wildcrafting” class with a natural herbalist in Canada’s spruce-dotted Yukon territory.

Dandelions and Discovery in the Yukon

For more than a decade, Jacqueline Clancy, a gardener and educator in Dawson City, has taught the art of wildcrafting to locals and travelers. The practice is part foraging, part healing.

Photo: Courtesy of Apurva Kempinski

Wildcrafters collect plants to make tinctures and essential oils that offer multiple benefits, from minimizing scarring to curbing headaches. During my visit, we made a salve from one of the most common yet underappreciated flowers, the dandelion.

These yellow plants may be considered weeds in suburbia, but cultures around the world have long sought them for their vitamin-rich roots and petals.

The Global Power of Petals

Dandelions can be cooked or consumed raw (within moderation). They can even be used in jellies, wines and teas. “Nature wants to feed and heal us,” Clancy told me as I crushed dried leaves for my dandelion salve, which also incorporated natural ingredients such as coconut oil, beeswax, and plantain leaf.

The four-ingredient potion can heal burns, cuts, scrapes, and chapped skin. The salve got me through a long, frigid winter of cracked cuticles and dry heat.

Photo: Courtesy of Apurva Kempinski

One day of wildcrafting left me wondering what other powers my favorite flowers hold. A lot, it turns out. Take the showy hibiscus plant. Consuming the flower can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Fragrant lavender is another natural healer. The scent alone can foster calm, improve sleep and mend anxiety. As an oil, lavender may also help reduce hair loss and treat acne. Roses, a late-spring staple, can aid upset stomachs, sore throats and colds.

Clancy says it’s critical to know which flower you’re harvesting. That’s why plant-identification 101 was the first part of my wildcrafting course. Flowers, even common species like the dandelion, can deceive you. “We all know what a dandelion is,” she said. “But I bet you didn’t know there’s a false one.”

Healing Blooms at Luxury Resorts

One way to be sure you’re using flowers safely? Turn to the experts, which is easy as resorts across the globe have myriad ways to use florals for well-being.

The Conrad Orlando’s spa treats guests with aromatic flower bathing, a ritual that blends Floridian blossoms with a fragrant bath, complete with a flower-infused sheet mask. The spa also features a massage that blends healing bodywork with aura cleansing and a flower-essence acupressure treatment.

Photo: Conrad, Orlando. Courtesy of Hilton

Blossom Haven, Hawaii, is another great place. The state is home to an estimated 1,200 native flowering plants, and wellness destinations such as the Kilolani Spa at the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria resort on the island of Maui, provide immersive plant treatments.

In the property’s hydrotherapy garden, guests rejuvenate through hot-cold water sessions while finding peace and serenity in a colorful, bloom-abundant setting. The spa’s marine flower peptide facial takes floral therapy a step further, with potent botanical peptides and algae extracts that support collagen production and improve the appearance of fine lines.

Photo: Courtesy of Apurva Kempinski

It’s hard to top the bounty of buds and blossoms in Bali. The spa at The Apurva Kempinski, a five-star luxury resort in Nusa Dua, incorporates flowers throughout the wellness experience, with oils infused with native plants like the champaka flower, which has been used for centuries to enhance energy. The property’s flower bath ritual is also steeped in Javanese tradition. Its fresh aromas are designed to cleanse the soul, while the sea views refresh the mind.

And those who want to experiment with wildcrafting can either head up to Dawson City to join Clancy’s hands-on workshop or head over to Alila Ventana Big Sur in Coastal California. The latter runs apothecary tours beneath the region’s dramatic redwoods. During the outings, experts help travelers forage native plants, then use their nutrient-rich finds to create healing souvenirs such as salves and lotion bars so they can continue the floral healing back home.