Show 2 Plantings Transform Ugliness to Beauty a a high h priority in in industry The Seventies may well be the decade of urban mini More and more businessmen are realizing that not every building that is demolished in the central city has to be converted into a parking lot Instead they are finding finding finding find find- ing means of converting them into neighborhood parks where residents residents residents resi resi- dents shoppers and office workers can get away from the asphalt atmosphere of the city and gaze gaz at ata ata ata a tree tree tree-a a beautiful simple tree What a refreshing sight What an excellent means of putting tensions and frustrations out of the mind and thinking happy beautiful thoughts Ugliness has been overtaking the United States since World War Var II II We Ve have erected enough neon signs to light Mars have built stark high rise public housing developments developments developments develop develop- ments to rival the blandness of Iron Curtain architecture and have turned to past plastic c flowers for our window boxes and dining tables And our lack of esthetic standards standards standards stand stand- ards is now coming home to roost in the form of dispirited people with no understanding of the joy that beauty brings to life and no appreciation for what beauty there is Mrs Lyndon B. B Johnson hit the nail on the head when she said Our peace of mind our emotions our spirit-even spirit our souls souls are are conditioned conditioned conditioned con con- by what our eyes see There is a feeling abroad in this this' land today that ugliness has been allowed too long that it is time to say Enough and to act With the expectation that 85 per percent percent percent cent of the population of the United States will be living in urban areas by 1980 the need to provide beauty within our cities becomes increasingly important President Nixon has said that an out all-out attack on environmental problems must be launched immediately immediately immediately imme imme- because there may not be bean bean bean an opportunity to begin it later It Itis Itis Itis is going to be hard as it is he said The most sensible place to begin in restoring beauty to our environment environment environment environ environ- ment is with the materials that nature has provided-living provided growing growing growing grow grow- ing plants No o natural resource is ismore ismore ismore more valuable to man especially in inthis inthis inthis this age of environmental crisis During the early Sixties businessmen businessmen businessmen busi busi- began to recognize that ugliness and blandness had a lot to todo todo todo do with the deteriorating nature of downtown business districts They turned to nature for help and undertook am ambitious projects to put potted trees shrubs and flowers on downtown sidewalks But by the end of the decade most business and civic leaders had realized that potted plant life wasn't enough and they began building shopping malls where they could plant large trees and shrubbery and build benches water fountains and play equipment equipment equipment equip equip- ment that would woula make downtown areas both attractive and relaxing Robert F. F Lederer executive vice president preside t of the American Association of Nurserymen said as early as 1967 in behalf of the industry he represents that beautification beautification beau makes good business sense from the standpoint of enhancing enhancing enhancing en en- the value of a home all the I Iway way up to helping someone do more business in in a shopping center Beauty creates an atmosphere that makes people want to linger and makes them want to do business business business busi busi- ness he said Americans are also making beauty a high priority in industry They are no longer willing to accept eyesores for the sake of pro pro- Industrial leaders too are becoming supporters of beauty in industry because of the positive image it creates for their industries as well as for the civic contribution that it makes to the communities in which their facilities are located Through its annual landscape Awards Program the American Association of Nurserymen has been encouraging excellence in business and industrial landscaping for the past 20 years In recent years the association the trade organization of the nursery industry industry industry indus indus- try has noticed a major increase in business and industrial recognition of the need for beauty in their own environments The association has been particularly pleased by the recognition demonstrated by the gasoline industry as evidenced in increasingly attractive building and landscape architecture for their service stations In the mobile American society of the Seventies beauty is vitally necessary along highways and rapid transit routes Highway plantings preserve the natural features features features fea fea- fea- fea tures of the terrain and screen ugliness ugliness ugliness ness from the view of the travelers Federal legislation now makes it possible for state governments to obtain federal money for plantings along new interstate highways making travel on them a delightful experience compared to the junk- junk yard-and-billboard yard cluttered roads of the past r P i Sr y t tEi Ei r e I Ii Ir JY r i r. r TH Ij I j I j BEAUTY IS GOOD BUSINESS American industry has learned that thul beautification of their plants and offices make good business sense Well lVell landscaped grounds create a positive image for industry while snaking making a contribution to the appearance of the community f |