• Your vibrant Main Street, quiet tree lined neighborhoods, and the presence of Bluffton University offer many opportunities and an enviable quality of life for residents.

• It’s the kind of community that tempts visitors to take a serious look at real estate listings.

•The village feels safe and welcoming.

• Connectivity is a high priority in the village.

These are among the comments made about Bluffton by Leslie Pittenger and Linda Cromer, judges from America in Bloom who visited Bluffton in July.

On Oct. 9, American in Bloom announced that Bluffton is the 2017 Outstanding Achievement recipient in its Urban Forestry category.

This week the village received the judges written report of the community. The entire report is attached at the bottom of this story.

Their comments on Bluffton continue:

Recognized Criterion: Floral Displays
Bluffton is a rainbow of blooms thanks in large part to Stratton Greenhouses, the catalyst for and creators of floral fireworks like you don’t often see.

This town and gown community is bursting at the seams with voluptuous hanging baskets and planters boiling over with color along Main Street. Bluffton University and the Mennonite Memorial Home add to the show with flowering shrubs, a bounty of perennials and annuals simply everywhere.

Talented home gardeners use their green thumbs to turn their private Eden’s into irresistible temptations for the hungry eye. The floral displays in Bluffton draw carloads of visitors who cruise through the downtown retail district to look, then turn around and park in order to get out of their cars and get up close and personal with the downtown drama.

Even the bees and butterflies think Bluffton’s floral displays are a flower lover’s fantasy.

Noteworthy Project or Initiative: Arboretum Tree Mapping by Girl Scouts
Bluffton Girl Scouts brought new energy and enthusiasm to the community’s arboretum. Working with the Mayor and the Tree Commission, they identified and tagged 42 species of trees.

They researched interesting facts about each species and delivered their material to the Tree Board for compilation into an informative brochure.

The two judges scored Bluffton in six areas after their visit. Their judging criteria included:
• Floral designs
• Landscaped areas
• Urban forestry
• Environmental efforts
• Heritage preservation
• Overall impression

In this rating system, the judges scored Bluffton with 704 points out of a possible 1,000.

America in Bloom is the only national awards program that sends specially-trained judges to personally visit participants. In addition, each participant receives a detailed written evaluation that can be used as a guide to future improvements.

CLICK HERE for earlier stories about the competition.

CLICK HERE for a story on the Bluffton Arboretum.