By Marvin N. Miller, America in Bloom Past President

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

     

Earlier this month, I attended the annual National League of Cities’ Congress of Cities. This was the 13^th year of America in Bloom’s participation in the conference and our 11^th year as an exhibitor. I was accompanied this year by our America in Bloom Vice President, Katy Moss Warner. And as I reflect on our 2.5 days at this year’s show in Nashville, I have to think, progress has been made.

When I first attended the show years ago, it seems most of the mayors and city councilmen who approached our display came only because our flowers lured them (we do put together a showy booth filled with flowers and plants!). Once the brief explanation of the National Awards Program had been outlined, all too often the explanation was met with hesitation and sometimes even with disdain. Many could not fathom the idea of convincing fellow councilmen or even taxpayers that it made sense to spend money on flowers, trees, and other plants, as words like “ludicrous,” “waste,” “unimaginable,” and “tight budgets” kept creeping into the conversation. 

While this year’s gorgeous plants (courtesy of White’s Nursery & Greenhouses, Chesapeake, VA and Holtkamp Greenhouses, Inc., Nashville, TN) may still have lured many of those who approached the booth, some actually stopped by because they were told by other mayors or staff to be sure to see us. More importantly, the conversations are now very different from those of earlier years. Today, when you lead with “the economic benefits of beautiful landscapes,” most of the city officials visiting our America in Bloom booth are resigned to the fact that you have to beautify even to remain competitive for consumers’ shopping dollars. Issues like property values and tourism dollars are understood. Factors such as attracting businesses and homeowners (read: taxpayers) are considered a given. And most of the folks recognize the need to spend money to make money, even for a city’s tight budget. It’s about the quality of life, and flowers and plants offer real value when it comes to making a city a nice place in which to live, work, and play.

When we talk about the environmental benefits of landscaping, little explanation is needed. These folks understand terms like carbon sequestration, water runoff, and erosion control. They appreciate the ability plants have to act as screens and filters for wind, dust, noise, and light pollution. And they understand urban heat sinks and the ability plants have to help ameliorate the temperature extremes. More to the point, these folks understand how plants contribute to the quality of life environmentally. 

Finally, when we talk about the psychological and sociological benefits of being around flowers, plants, and trees and having flowers, plants, and trees around us, these active and passive interactions seem to be regular remedies that many of these city officials have themselves prescribed. City officials understand that garden beauty can replace trash in vacant lots, that beautiful landscapes can deter crime, and that a walk in natural surroundings can have certain calming effects. They’ve heard that flowers or plants in a hospital room or even a garden view will help patients recover more quickly than those that don’t have these amenities. And they know about plants’ ability to spur creativity in the workplace, to help children focus on schoolwork, to aid in memory retention, and the like. Chambers of Commerce and Tourism Bureaus understand how flowers, plants, and trees can serve as a welcome to passersby, signaling that your community offers a respite from the surrounding highways, how they can unify a community, and how they can provide a sense of belonging.

Truly, our time at the National League of Cities this year was such a contrast to the earlier years that we began reminiscing as to how far we’ve come. We met many new mayors and council members. We saw several mayors and councilmen from cities that have participated as recently as this year, and at least a mayor or two from AIB’s very first year, 2002. And we met several new officials from previously participating cities that were not yet aware of AIB or that their city had once participated. (Over 14 years, mayors and council members turn over as well.)  We had the opportunity to encourage all of these to join our ranks or to come back into the program for 2016!  

If the National League of Cities was not on your itinerary earlier this month, I would encourage you to visit America in Bloom’s website and download the “Discover the Surprising Side of Plants” brochure and enrolling in the 2016 edition of our National Awards Program with our Participation Guide. 2016 will be our 15^th edition of the program and our Symposium will be in Arroyo Grande, California, October 6-8. We look forward to welcoming you (back) to our America in Bloom family!