Ornament

This chapter assesses how US nurserymen adapted to the changing market and ecological realities. By following the businesses of the Rochester nurserymen in the early decades of the twentieth century, it tracks the transition of the plant nursery industry from one primarily suited to provide fruit-bearing plants for orchards to a model centered on ornamental plants for municipal parks and home plantings. During this period, plant nurserymen also became vehement advocates for the City Beautiful movement—a political current that encouraged local governments to beautify urban landscapes for public health and moral uprightness. Additionally, nurserymen refocused their efforts to attract business from suburban buyers by shifting their marketing toward ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers—those plants largely unaffected by the recently passed legislation. In Rochester, some plant nurserymen developed real estate businesses to feed the demand for new suburban communities. By selling land that was no longer needed to grow the saplings for the transcontinental plant trade, nurserymen fueled residential demand for plant material while also dedicating their remaining nursery grounds to ornamental specimens.