Happy 10th – A Beautiful Bloomin’ Anniversary Year
By Marvin Miller, AIB President
Way back when America in Bloom was a fledgling organization, I remember a story told by the late Rance Searle of Bloom Master Corporation of Vernal, Utah. Rance told me that the people who sell disposable cameras were amazed to find there were more disposable cameras sold in the 7-Eleven in Vernal than anywhere else in the state. Rance said it was the power of Vernal’s floral displays that sold those cameras. Not bad for this small community, considering the state has five National Parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches). Rance was always a big supporter of AIB. His partner, Marty Hanson, now the sole owner of the company, continues the tradition of support.
The reason these two gentlemen have been huge AIB supporters over the 10-year history of America in Bloom is they know about this power of flowers to welcome visitors to a town. Rance used to say, “It’s like we rolled out the red carpet to welcome folks.” If they were just passing through, they suddenly felt the need to stop and smell the flowers. Many bought the cameras to record their visit. Others decided it was time to have a meal, to buy a souvenir, or just to stretch their legs and enjoy the scenery.
Of course, not all green spaces have flowers. But flowers provide the cure to “Plant Blindness,” the ability of people to be surrounded by nature but not notice it (first described by researchers Wandersee and Schussler in 1998). As Katy Moss Warner, now an AIB Judge and Board member, President Emerita of the American Horticultural Society, and former director of horticulture for Disney World, told us at our first AIB Symposium in 2002, flowers were an essential element in getting Disney’s visitors to appreciate the green space that was Disneyworld.
As we enter America in Bloom’s 10th anniversary year, it is important to recognize how far we’ve come but also to recognize how far we can yet travel to beautify our country. There is no doubt that trees, shrubs, turf, and groundcovers are equally important horticultural elements. Environmental awareness, tidiness, heritage appreciation, and community involvement are equally important pieces of a city’s quality of life. But flowers certainly do roll out the red carpet! And it is the flowers that accent the green beauty that all of nature provides.
Dr. Randy Woodson, now Chancellor of North Carolina State University and a floriculturist by training, gained much of his credibility as a scientist from researching the role of a plant’s flowers in the life cycle of the plant. When Randy first discovered the proof that flowers begin to wilt when a plant’s ovary was fertilized, I asked him what provided the clues that led him down this research path. Randy said, matter-of-factly, that flowers provided the invitation to pollinators to visit the plant. Once pollinated, he hypothesized that the flower’s job was complete; for the species to survive, it was really better that the flowers faded, so as not to attract predators which might eat the plant. Furthermore, once pollinated, the ovary’s role was to produce the fruit with its seeds to complete the cycle for the plant’s regeneration. Randy went about proving the hypothesis.
Ironically, on a grander scale, flowers in a landscape serve almost the same purpose. Yes, they attract pollinators. But flowers also invite passers-by to stop and visit, to pollinate and fertilize the city’s economy, to produce the gross receipts and the revenues that tourists, businesses, and residents need to keep a city’s economy healthy and constantly regenerating. Flowers accent the rest of the landscape, so it can be appreciated for all of its contributions for enhancing the environment. And flowers provide the beauty that keeps the city inviting, which improves the overall well-being of all the citizens.
Help American in Bloom celebrate its 10th anniversary year. Enroll now in the 2011 AIB Contest and plan now to attend the Annual Symposium and Awards Program in Washington, DC.
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