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Business is Blooming
1 Nov, 2007 By: Brian Albright LivescapesAmerica in bloom builds community, industry links
Cities across the U.S. showed off their landscaping skills and their community spirit in this year's America In Bloom competition. The annual contest, now in its sixth year, provides an avenue for communities to expand involvement in their beautification programs.
 AIB PRESIDENT Marvin Miller presents Saratoga Springs' award to (from left to right) Remigia Foy, Sandra cTygue and Thomas McTygue. |
Thirty cities from all regions of the country participated in the competition in 2007, and winners were announced at the America In Bloom Symposium and Awards Program on Sept. 29 in Rockford, IL.
The AIB program began in 2001, inspired in part by National Arbor Day's Tree City USA program and Canada's Communities in Bloom initiative. The non-profit organization is dedicated to promoting nationwide beautification programs and encouraging community involvement. It also provides an opportunity for horticultural and landscaping businesses to get involved in community-wide projects that can raise their profile with residents, and help boost business in the process.
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"The program enhances these communities, and it also helps to grow the industry," says Marvin Miller, president of the board of directors of AIB and market research manager at Ball Horticultural.
The program is sponsored and supported by a number of industry organizations and suppliers, including the American Nursery & Landscape Association, OFA — an Association of Floriculture Professionals, Ball Horticultural, and The Scotts Company, among many others.
 America in bloom population category winners |
Communities are grouped into seven population categories and judged on eight criteria: floral displays, environmental awareness, landscaped areas, tidiness, urban forestry, heritage preservation, community involvement and turf and groundcovers.
"Four of those categories are explicitly horticultural, but the others go deeper," Miller says. "Things like community involvement and environmental awareness really reflect the culture of the city and the attitude of the community. Do they appreciate their heritage? Are they cognizant of how things like litter can affect the city? That really gets at the mindset and the soul of a community."
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Getting Involved
According to Miller, communities get involved for a variety of reasons. In some cases, cities use the program as a way to kickstart an improvement initiative; in others, they may enter to show-off an effort that's already under way. Often, members of the local green industry will spur a community to enter.
 MEMBERS of Beloit's city council and parks services accept the city's AIB award (above) for its landscaping. |
That was the case in Saratoga Springs, NY, which won the Ball Horticultural Company Floral Displays Award this year. The community entered the contest at the urging of Ned Chapman, owner of Sunnyside Gardens, a local grower.
Chapman had first learned of AIB through the New York State Flower Growers Association. When Sunnyside won the bid to provide flowers for the city, he mentioned it to Public Works Commissioner Tom McTygue. "I told him I was surprised the city had never entered the contest," Chapman says. "Saratoga Springs has done these big floral displays for a number of years. A lot of things necessary for America In Bloom, the town did already."
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