By Dr. Marvin Miller, AIB President
The other day, I was talking to a garden center manager about America in Bloom. The manager knew of the program, but when I asked why they had not brought the program to the city, the manager replied, “I don’t want to come across as self-serving.” “Self-serving?” I asked. When he replied, “Well, it could help my sales,” I countered, “And the lives of all your fellow citizens!”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve had this conversation. I am the first to admit that a thriving America in Bloom program in a city can be very good for a garden center’s business. Indeed, we have anecdotal evidence from one grower with several garden centers of his own across two states. This grower has convinced several of the cities where his garden centers operate to participate in America in Bloom’s Awards Program. While not all of the cities participate in the program every year, this grower has offered the comment that my garden centers’ sales average 8 percent higher in the years those cities participate than during the years the cities “take off.” Still, because the cities have participated, even during the “off” years, his garden centers sell more today than they did prior to the initial involvement in the AIB program.

However, other businesses benefit, too! Cities with beautification efforts just make for nicer places to shop, so the involvement with America in Bloom helps most of the merchants in the towns. And pretty places also attract more visitors, so hotels and restaurants prosper as well. This kind of success often attracts new residents over time, which, in turn, again helps all of the merchants and maybe even some in the construction trade and others in the service industry.

A flourishing community helps the tax base for that municipality as well. This can ultimately lead to either a reduction in the tax rate and/or to an increase in the city’s services. And so the cycle continues. Done right, the city will just get prettier and prettier over time. And this could lead to a host of other environmental, as well as sociological and psychological, benefits as well.

So, when I have one of these conversations with a garden center owner or manager, I always leave by challenging them to get even more involved with the community and get the community involved with America in Bloom. If challenged about being self-serving, the correct response is, “Yes! It will help my business. But it will help the businesses throughout this community. It will help all of the citizens as well. And it will help the city government. You’re damn right, I’m self-serving, and I’m proud to be so!”