Dominoes
By Marvin Miller, AIB President
I recently read some newspaper coverage from one of our AIB contest cities which quoted a consumer about what America in Bloom meant to her as a gardener. Her response was, “It’s great! It gives me all kinds of ideas about what plants to grow and in what combinations.” She continued, “If it’s successful on Main Street, then I think I can grow this in my yard, too.”
Certainly, our experience is that when a city gets together to try to win the contest, everyone gardens. The municipality, the business community, the schools, the service organizations, the homeowner associations, and even individual residents all do their best to clean their properties, plant flowers, trim hedges, prune trees and shrubs, and trim the lawns. Some cities even get together to try to coordinate a “city flower” to be planted throughout the town, while others prefer to let each gardener express their own feelings through the flowers they plant. In any case, it’s like polishing all of the band members’ shoes before the big parade.
The learning opportunity expressed in the above quote – if it’s successful elsewhere, then I can also grow it, too – is quite interesting. For many years, avid gardeners have referred to a “domino effect” that occurs in a city, neighborhood, or subdivision. This is often expressed as, “The more one gardener plants, the more it influences others to garden.”
Yet, I have heard of many instances where one prominent planting in a city influences others to seek out that same plant. I recall a garden center manager commenting that a landscaper had planted a new showy perennial next to the entrance sign of the city’s airport. For the month when this plant was in bloom, the garden center could not keep that plant in stock. Taken to another level, I know garden center managers who regularly seek out the plans for certain highly visible plantings ahead of time, so they can be sure to have specific selections in stock. This, too, is a kind of defensive “domino effect.
In many neighborhoods, one is able to admire the flowers that others plant. When everyone plants, everyone enjoys the view. But in some instances, gardeners may plant more out of personal pride for the way one’s own home looks than for the self-enjoyment they might or might not get from neighbors’ activities. This is when you really hope for the “domino effect.”
Though not an official policy of the organization, America in Bloom advocates playing dominoes. So help plant pride in your communities. Get out there and garden!
I recently read some newspaper coverage from one of our AIB contest cities which quoted a consumer about what America in Bloom meant to her as a gardener. Her response was, “It’s great! It gives me all kinds of ideas about what plants to grow and in what combinations.” She continued, “If it’s successful on Main Street, then I think I can grow this in my yard, too.”
Certainly, our experience is that when a city gets together to try to win the contest, everyone gardens. The municipality, the business community, the schools, the service organizations, the homeowner associations, and even individual residents all do their best to clean their properties, plant flowers, trim hedges, prune trees and shrubs, and trim the lawns. Some cities even get together to try to coordinate a “city flower” to be planted throughout the town, while others prefer to let each gardener express their own feelings through the flowers they plant. In any case, it’s like polishing all of the band members’ shoes before the big parade.
The learning opportunity expressed in the above quote – if it’s successful elsewhere, then I can also grow it, too – is quite interesting. For many years, avid gardeners have referred to a “domino effect” that occurs in a city, neighborhood, or subdivision. This is often expressed as, “The more one gardener plants, the more it influences others to garden.”
Yet, I have heard of many instances where one prominent planting in a city influences others to seek out that same plant. I recall a garden center manager commenting that a landscaper had planted a new showy perennial next to the entrance sign of the city’s airport. For the month when this plant was in bloom, the garden center could not keep that plant in stock. Taken to another level, I know garden center managers who regularly seek out the plans for certain highly visible plantings ahead of time, so they can be sure to have specific selections in stock. This, too, is a kind of defensive “domino effect.
In many neighborhoods, one is able to admire the flowers that others plant. When everyone plants, everyone enjoys the view. But in some instances, gardeners may plant more out of personal pride for the way one’s own home looks than for the self-enjoyment they might or might not get from neighbors’ activities. This is when you really hope for the “domino effect.”
Though not an official policy of the organization, America in Bloom advocates playing dominoes. So help plant pride in your communities. Get out there and garden!
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