What’s in a flower?

Something symbolic, something fresh, something new.

The City of Auburn is exploring the possibility of officially adopting one. Not that the city has an identity crisis, but perhaps it’s lacking something more visually attractive to complement its long-held motto, “More Than You Imagined.”

But before you see an official flower decorate a patrol car’s door, blossom on City Hall letterhead or accompany a promotional poster, the Auburn arts community welcomes some suggestions.

“Well, I doubt (it will be) on squad cars, but our town is so focused on the arts, and I was asked several times about ‘our city flower,’ ” Lewis said. “And it got my interest.”

If anything, Lewis wants a choice.

“I always loved (storyteller) Connie (Constantine) Malesis’ work, so I thought trillium was the flower,” the mayor added. “I had always heard it was the trillium, but nothing official has ever been done.”

Trillium, a native wild flower that blossoms in the winter, has been bandied about.

“As far as I know there is no city flower,” said Patricia Cosgrove, director of the White River Valley Museum. “Trillium comes to mind in reference to Connie Malesis’ book, ‘Where the Trilliums Bloom’, as do chrysanthemums since there has been a long history of growing them in the local garden club.”

The Auburn Garden Club likes the idea of adopting an official flower.

“I think it would be interesting,” said Dianne Boerger, membership chair for the Auburn Garden Club. “It’s certainly something we could discuss or work with the (City).”

Few cities, especially cities of Auburn’s size and nature, have officially adopted a flower. La Conner gives way to its renowned Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in the spring, but few other cities in the state embrace the possibilities.

Flower power usually is something flexed on a grander scale.

The Washington State Senate took action and approved the coast rhododendron as the official state flower on Feb. 10, 1893. A year earlier, the Oregon grape became the Beaver State’s official flower.

Soon, other official flowers sprouted.

The dahlia became Seattle’s official flower in 1913. City leaders requested that the parks department plant and cultivate the flower in its parks.

San Francisco followed the act of beautification, claiming the dahlia as its official flower in 1926. Experts say the flower originated in San Francisco and is grown in gardens all over the world.

Los Angeles’ official flower is the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae). Each year Baltimore kicks off the gardening season by holding the annual event that pays tribute to its favorite bloom, the flower mart.

The Rust Belt metropolis of Rochester, N.Y. – once known as the center for flour milling before its decline – changed its nickname from the Flour City to the Flower City.

Auburn, meanwhile, has a history with flowers.

The late and honorable Koji Norikane, for one, understood their beauty and effect.

A master gardener and longtime valley farmer, Koji grew award-winning chrysanthemums, creating some of the most grand, cascade-shaped

“ ’mum” displays. In essence, he was the master of ’mums.

Koji planted thousands of flowers at the City Hall Plaza. He would plant the tulips each fall, return in the spring to dig up the bulbs and replace them with marigolds.

“I love watching things grow,” Koji once said. “I love this city, and this is something I can contribute.”

Koji’s flowers represented something historically significant, symbolizing Auburn’s agricultural roots.

Flowers can bring something positive in a city struggling to find its way in the wake of downtown redevelopment and economic challenges. A symbolic goodwill gesture, a welcome sign, if you will.

An attractive gerber daisy adorns Ace Christenson’s sign at his Auburn florist shop, Buds and Blooms.

“And it would be selfish of me to suggest it,” Christenson said of placing his vote for an official city flower.

Barbara Schlaitzer, owner of Alice Octavia Floral Shoppe, paused before placing her vote.

“Hydrangea. How about that? It’s pretty wet here.” she said.

Let the debate begin.

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What do you think?

Should the City adopt an official flower? If so, what flower would best represent Auburn? Send your suggestions to: submissions@auburn-reporter.com.