The image entitled “flowering around” encapsulates the idea of systems set in place in the urban environment compared to similar systems set in place in the naturally occurring environment. The image is straightforward: a flower growing out of a piece of plumbing. Both are recognizable symbols. The flower, no matter the species, generally represents growth, love, and a positive demeanor. It has been for generations a symbol of the connection human’s share with each other and our natural environment. It symbolizes well-being, and health. It is a common occurrence to find front yards, parks, lobbies and gardens saturated with these beautiful plants of all types in our cities and surrounding suburbia. As symbolic as the flower is, the main focus in the imagery is the plumbing. It represents the systems set in place in our lives that are often over looked and taken for granted, similar to many of the systems overlooked in the natural world. Water systems, electricity, trans-portation, agriculture, and heat are massively important in our modern world; they are what make living in a city as natural for humans as a squir-rel living in the forest. And they are not dissimilar in how they work either. River systems are extremely complex, cutting through landscapes to provide water for plants and animals, shaping the weather systems, and hydrating the landscape. I won’t go into the technicalities of what would happen if cities did not have water systems and if rivers stopped flowing. That is an alto-gether didn’t concept. What I will say is this; in order for our cities and com-munities to maintain their comfortability, the systems set in place must be maintained and appreciated, given a second glance, and not taken for granted. They allow our cement playgrounds to run smoothly, to feel as if they should be there, and are not completely detached from the green tones and brown hues that surround them.