Abstract

The field of public horticulture has expanded to include many types of horticulture displays, including those that were either never considered as such in the past, or considered non-traditional at best, like cemeteries, theme parks, and historic landscapes. Today, the hotel industry and related resorts are beginning to invest large amounts of space and money into developing elaborate gardens and horticulture displays that are reaching large and diverse audiences. This research examines the role of horticulture in the hotel industry as an emerging and important factor in public horticulture, as well as one that could benefit from initiating or improving an alliance with professional public horticulture organizations.

This study focused on six case studies of organizations based in the United States that placed an emphasis on horticulture, were open to the public, and employed professionally trained horticulturists as staff members. Aspects researched were the history of the gardens, the displays themselves, the visitor demographics, and the programming and marketing of the gardens at the hotel. Results indicated that each of the organizations used the gardens as a way of differentiating their product from a crowded marketplace and offering an extra amenity to guests. Attention to detail was common, display budgets were relatively generous, display designs and plant material content were sophisticated and diverse, and responsibility for display maintenance was frequently the charge of skilled and trained personnel from plant science backgrounds.

As people begin to distance themselves from nature, these gardens become an increasingly important way of reaching a new audience in a unique setting, and perhaps an audience that may rarely visit more familiar public horticulture institutions, like botanic gardens and arboreta. As a result of this research, recommendations were developed to increase the exposure of this public horticulture resource to the industry and to the large number of guests who are visiting these sites.