Market buzz

America in Bloom launches photo contest

America in Bloom, with cooperating sponsorship from Home & Garden Showplace and Monrovia Nursery, has announced a new endeavor to encourage and recognize beautification efforts through an annual photography contest.

Cities and towns across the United States will be evaluated on their overall beauty as demonstrated by a submitted portfolio of up to 18 photos. Entrants are invited to submit any photographs from their city.

Portfolios may be submitted from interested photographers individually, or from a coordinated effort involving the municipality, a local chamber of commerce, a local convention and tourism bureau, or local photography stores, arboreta and botanical gardens, photography or garden clubs and local garden retailers. Visit America in Bloom’s website for more information about the contest and how to submit photos, and email questions to aib@AmericaInBloom.org.

For more www.AmericaInBloom.org

Registration open for All-America Selections’ Summer Road Trip event

All-America Selections’ (AAS) Summer Road Trip event will be held June 14 to 16 in Charlotte and Asheville, N.C.

“Healthy Plants, Healthy You!” is the theme for this year’s event, which will explore the many ways plant life can affect human health and wellness.

The event is open to the public and registration is available through the AAS website. A coach bus will take passengers from Charlotte to Asheville before returning to the Charlotte Douglas Airport. This year’s itinerary includes trips to see “high-tech, almost futuristic research” and “back to the earth” small farms.

Planned stops include the North Carolina State University Plants for Human Health Institute, Metrolina Greenhouses, WNC Farmer’s Market, Blue Ridge Food Ventures, Van Wingerden International, and Chimney Rock State Park, among others.

Interested participants can register for a single day of the trip or for all three days. Prices vary from $175 for a single day to $410 to $450 for three days.

Prices for registration increases after May 16.

For more www.4-next.com/aas/meetings/summer_summit/step_1.cfm

America in Bloom announces new leadership

America in Bloom recently announced new leaders of the organization. Dr. Charlie Hall, professor at Texas A & M University and industry expert, is the new America in Bloom (AIB) President. The new Vice President is Katy Moss Warner, who is president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society and was director of Disney’s Horticulture and Environmental Initiatives at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for 24 years. Each will serve a two-year term.

For more www.americainbloom.org
 

American Garden Award contestants announced

American Garden Award announced that people will soon be able to vote on their favorite flower from the four entries in the 2014 contest. By early June, more than 30 public gardens across the country participating in American Garden Award will have all four entries planted and ready for the public to “view and vote” on their favorite. This program is a unique opportunity for the public to vote on a specific flower that they think has the most appeal.

After May 1 (and up until September 30) there will be three ways to vote:

1. Text a given code to a polling number
2. Go to americangardenaward.com and click on the flower of choice
3. Use postage-paid voting postcards located at garden.
    

The four entries are:

• Celosia Arrabona Red, PanAmerican Seed
• Cuphea Sriracha Violet F1, Syngenta Flowers
• Foxglove Digiplexis Illumination Flame, Cultivaris
• Petunia ‘Sanguna Radiant Blue,’ Syngenta Flowers
   

For more www.americangardenaward.com
 

Costa Farms acquires Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses, Inc.

Costa Farms announced that it has acquired the business, assets, and brands of Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses, Inc. of Apopka, Florida, a small-foliage grower.

Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses has played a role in the indoor houseplant industry for more than 40 years.

“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work with a team that has been committed to quality for so many years,” says Jose Costa, executive vice president and co-owner of Costa Farms. “The Engelmann organization has done an outstanding job cultivating and keeping their brand strong with 40-plus years of hard work and dedication. And we feel a huge component of this transaction is the skill and expertise of the Engelmann production team.”

Costa Farms will continue to support the Exotic Angel brand, and looks to build a portfolio of more than 400 plant varieties. “Being the most recognized houseplant brand in the country, Exotic Angel is a perfect complement to join the Costa portfolio of brands, such as O2 for You and Plants of Steel,” Costa says.
 

AFE awards scholarships to students

Two students have been awarded a 2014 Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship through the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The merit-based scholarship honors the late floriculture pioneer and is awarded to M.S. or Ph.D. students who are on track to become exceptional researchers or educators.

Joshua Craver, who will soon earn a graduate degree at Kansas State University and begin a doctoral program at Purdue University, and Emma Lookabaugh, a doctoral student at North Carolina State University, were both awarded the $10,000 scholarship. As a rule, only one Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship is awarded each year. However, this year, the committee decided to reward two students. This prestigious scholarship, established in 2010, is funded by contributions to AFE from the floral industry, the Ecke family and other sources. Awardees will receive $5,000 for two consecutive years, provided they continue meeting scholarship requirements.

AFE awards more than 20 additional scholarships annually to undergraduate through graduate level students.

For more www.endowment.org