Now, years ago, when I was a kid, and that WAS years ago. We all knew about Victoria. It was the garden of Eden of B.C. Perfect weather, ocean, and...flowers. It was our tourist mecca, and, obviously the place politicians enjoyed spending their "work" time.
Yes, Victoria had tourists, but, it wasn't because of the flowers!!
Suddenly, some bright twit decided that all of the province was going to profit from tourism, and....all they had to do was plant their community with flowers.
I love flowers!! I try year after year to have more in my yard, but, the cost of a garden is not minimal, and, it takes a pretty large chunk of time to maintain. I know there are some in my community who have awesome gardens, chock full of beautiful flowers. Has this brought a penny in their pocket from tourism? Nope...It has more likely taken every spare penny they have socked away after utilities and food, to have this place of enjoyment.
However, it seems if we plant thousands of dollars worth of plants, each and every year along our highway, and in front of those enormous tourist attractions of the town hall, library, and hospital, we will all be flooded with tourist dollars!This bright idea has snowballed in many small ,budget limited towns. It has become part-time, well paid employment for many people across the province. All Union, with benefits, and wages paid for by the tax paying citizens. Greenhouses have flourished with the necessary purchases each year, of flowers that will bloom and die and be replaced the following year.
Sorry..I don't care what the reasoning is, snow removal destroying the lovely little flower beds, requiring only annual (means they grow once) plants, because the beds are too close to the road. Extra things like this, should be designed to be cost effective. Someone should have thought of winter when they decided hick town B.C. was going to try and keep up with Victoria.
Truth of the matter, folks, not once have I thought of traveling to a town, because the flowers along the roads were pretty. Sure I have headed to Van Dusen Gardens, to see the gardens. I figure, money spent on cleaning up litter along the roads, and places that are tidy, are far more appealing than the cookie cutter flower beds.Sure some potted plants outside business would be pretty, but, all I see when I look at those pretty little flowers, and great big planters outside of town buildings, is, the reason I have less to spend in my own yard.
I also have a peeve, beyond the continual cost of the plants, and maintenance, that peeve is watering. Now, throughout the summer, we get messages that we are NOT to water our lawns because we have a water shortage. Well.....we are to simply allow our yards to dry out to dust, as we watch the road side flower beds receive their water on a timed system, we watch the lawns outside the hospital get their drinks, outside the town buildings, all green. Sorry, but...if those who pay for all the services must let their investments dry up, why is water supplied to the unnecessary stuff?
If we live in an area that water shortage is common, perhaps flowers are not something we should be decorating with. I am right ticked when I am suppose to let my time and effort go to waste, while something I never once requested, is allowed to blossom. Plus, I get to pay for it, as well.
I feel as though this flower thing has been blown out of proportion, the budget has grown enormously since the beginning. It is simply an unnecessary expense we should cut out, until we have a surplus in the budget, that can be spent on knick knacks. That is what the flowers are, they are not something we will not survive without, like water. If this expense is set aside for a few years, imagine the savings, for things that we truly need.
This is window dressing, just makeup, and pricey makeup at that. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I'm not saying small towns are sow's ears, but, they are what they are, and pretty flowers are not going to make a lick of difference when it comes to tourist dollars!Most of us have seen the reality of the big promise of tourist meccas all about the province. Our government has seen this truth as well, which is why suddenly they are willing to cut down forests, and drown wildlife, and flood farmers...cripes, flowers are certainly not on the save list. Lets get a grip on reality, folks, we can't afford these unnecessary expenses, and maybe it is only a few extra pennies when it comes to our taxes, but if all those unnecessary expenses were stopped, it is quite likely we would have quite a few extra bucks in our pockets, and maybe a few more plants in our gardens!
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