Raising the bar

Holland, Mich. is known for its spring Tulip Time Festival, when the charming town celebrates its Dutch heritage and millions of tulips burst into bloom.

It’s a big reason why Forbes magazine named Holland one of the 15 prettiest towns in America last year. But Holland is more than tulips. The community’s “spectacular” floral displays, crafted from more than 160,000 annuals that are grown, planted and tended by city employees, peak in mid-August, says Parks Supervisor Steve Zwiep.

The city entered the America in Bloom competition in 2011 to gain recognition for this and other efforts. And recognition it got: Not only has the city of 33,000 won its population category three years in a row, but it won the overall award for tidiness in 2011. In 2012, it received awards for environmental effort and best community gardening program, and was honored with the Circle of Champions designation, one of only nine of 200 cities to earn the honor. Last year, Holland received the overall award for historic preservation.

Civic pride is “a way of life in Holland,” but the local AIB initiative – called Holland in Bloom – ramped it up, Zwiep says. More residents are improving their lawns and putting out containers of flowers. “It’s amazing how that works,” he says.

It’s been a boon to the local economy, too. “People are now coming downtown” for Thursday night street performances, which are “phenomenally successful,” to dine at new outdoor cafes, and just to see the flowers, Zwiep says. Exquisitely designed containers and beds are planned by Shelly DeVries, who operates the city’s greenhouse, he says.

The city, merchants and building owners always have prioritized making downtown beautiful, but Holland in Bloom “has helped us raise it to another level,” says Downtown Manager Dana Kollewehr. The number of planters and plantings on private property in the downtown area has increased, as have the variety of plants being used, she says. The result is an appealing environment that draws people back and attracts new, quality businesses, Kollewehr says.

This year, Holland in Bloom held a Blizzards to Blooms garden competition for residents, and a build-your-own rain barrel workshop. The second annual “tulip pull” let residents fill 10-gallon buckets of bulbs for $10. People helped clean up public flower beds and got a great value on bulbs to replant at home, while proceeds went to support Holland in Bloom initiatives.

Another benefit of AIB: the judges’ evaluation report, which is “chock full of information” on “how to improve your city,” Zwiep says. For the cost of the entry fee, a city could hire a consultant for two hours; AIB judges are on site for two days, Zwiep says.

Based on judges’ past suggestions, Holland has hung flower baskets in Centennial Park, added flower pods to the park’s koi pond and modified the way it cares for urban trees, he says. Other initiatives include a tree canopy study conducted by a local university and an incentive program to replace ash trees lost to emerald ash borer.

This spring, the city completed a $1-million restoration of its iconic Windmill DeZwaan, located in scenic Windmill Island Gardens. The 252-year-old structure arrived in Holland from the Netherlands 50 years ago and is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the U.S.

All these initiatives are making a powerful impact on Holland. But Zwiep, who grew up working in family-owned greenhouses, is driven to win one honor in particular: AIB’s overall award for floral display. “That is my goal,”

The author is a freelance writer in Gurnee, Illinois.