A team of more than 650 horticultural professionals at Walt Disney World Resort direct a landscape “show” of well over 4 million trees, shrubs and flowers that are part of the entertainment at the Vacation Kingdom. Each plant is placed strategically to add character, color, mood or backdrop to one of the world’s largest and busiest “stages.”

BLOOMS FOR SHOW: More than 4,000 acres of the 47-square-mile Vacation Kingdom are landscaped to add beauty and warmth to the four theme parks, Downtown Disney, five championship golf courses, resorts hotels, Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground and the many other recreational areas that comprise Walt Disney World Resort.

ROOTED IN TRADITION: Since the dawn of Walt Disney World Resort in 1971, new plantings have included some 100,000 trees and more than 2 million tended shrubs. Disney gardeners also plant more than 3 million bedding plants annually in about 300,000 square feet of flower beds. Seasonal crop rotations are routine, flower beds are inspected daily, and replacement plantings maintain the desired high quality of show.

THEME-PARK STAGING: Landscaping sets the scene in every theme park. There’s a lush green escape into The Oasis at Disney’s Animal Kingdom before guests encounter the remarkably authentic savannah of the park’s Kilimenjaro Safaris attraction. The exotic jungles of Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom fade into the arid, cactus-dotted Frontierland. The Le Notre gardens of Epcot are formal, while palm-lined Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios exudes casual glamour.

ROSES UNLIMITED: As the official United States flower, the rose is represented by more than 100 varieties and nearly 13,000 plants on the Walt Disney World property. Many varieties can be found at the All-American Rose Selection Display Garden near Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

TOPIARY WHIMSY: Topiary can be found in more than 100 designs, ranging from trees pruned in geometric shapes to the many topiary figures in the shape of Disney characters which dot the theme-park and resort landscape. Other flora include nearly 8,500 major interior plants, such as that seen in the lobby of Disney’s Polynesian Resort, and 800 hanging baskets adding color at eye level.

TURF, TREES AND TRIVIA: Nearly 2,000 acres are devoted to six varieties of turf. Bahia grass covers highway approaches and unirrigated areas, while ‘Emerald’ zoysia grass predominates at Epcot. A hybrid Bermuda grass blankets golf courses.

Because the grass must be mowed at least twice (and often three times) each week, Walt Disney World gardeners figure if they were to mow in a straight line, the turf they cover would extend some 450,000 miles a year -- equal to 18 times around the earth at the equator.

Trees planted at the Walt Disney World Resort come from all over the United States, but many of their ancestors have roots in Europe, Mexico or the Orient. In all, more than 2,500 species of plants representing flora gathered from all over the United States and 50 foreign countries can be found.

Healthy growth requires the use of more than 2,000 miles of irrigation pipe and 65,000 sprinkler heads. A sophisticated computerized system is used to control and monitor irrigation throughout the four theme parks.

The horticulture staff consists of more than 650 specialists who maintain the landscape and operate the five-acre Walt Disney World Nursery. More than 5,000 interior plants are maintained in the greenhouses and more than 5,000 hanging baskets are produced each year.

Walt Disney World Resort horticulturists are challenged constantly to create new moods and use their skills in innovative ways. But their greatest challenge is to provide guests with a year-round horticultural show that adds color, character, excitement and entertainment.

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