After recovering from Hurricane Ian, the Venice in Bloom Team is back in action and just planted its prize – 50 gallons of Sun Parasol Original mandevilla/dipladenia varieties, including Sunbeam, Pink and Crimson. Last summer, Venice, FL, won the Alive With Flowers – Sunbeam Social Media Award that Suntory Flowers sponsored through America in Bloom. (AIB) "The fun part was planning the plants to install this year."
The Bloom Team, led by Bob Vedder, is a division of Venice Area Beautification, Inc. (VABI), which began in 2011 when he retired as publisher of the local newspaper, The Gondolier. Bob and his wife traveled to many beautiful cities and decided Venice should have flowers, too. He started working with the city on just five hanging baskets. The next year it doubled to 10 baskets and then again to 20. Today, his 17-member Bloom Team of volunteers works with the city to plant and care for 93 hanging baskets, 70 pots, and nine gorgeous fountains full of annual flowers. Local nursery partners include American Farms in Naples and MRT Lawn and Garden in Venice.
The spot chosen for our Sun Parasol installation is the intersection of Venice Avenue and Grove Street. Two facing medians were planted. One featured Sun Parasol Original Pink and Crimson in front of a fountain. The other created a mound of Sunbeam encircled by more Crimson. The plants were grown by Sun-Fire Nurseries in Sarasota.
Many hands make light work
the energetic Venice in Bloom Team planted the two street islands within 2 hours.
Alive with Flowers - Sunbeam Social Media Award contest with America in Bloom (AIB)
Suntory Flowers will sponsor the Alive with Flowers – Sunbeam Social Media Award contest with America in Bloom (AIB) again this summer. "We'll be gathering photo entries on our Facebook and Instagram pages from May through July. The winner will be announced at the America in Bloom Symposium in Greenwood, SC, September 28-30. Your town doesn't need to be active in AIB to win. For more information, follow our Facebook or Instagram pages. Or ask Marketing Director Delilah Onofrey directly."
For more information:
Delilah Onofrey 
Suntory Flowers
Email: [email protected]
www.suntoryflowers.com
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