Epcot: Flower & Garden Festival unfazed by freeze

Dewayne Bevil, News, Things to do — By Dewayne Bevil on January 22, 2010 at 10:15 am

 

This month’s frigid conditions may have been tough on your lawn and garden, but planners of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival had a plan in place, just in case.

Disney World has greenhouses to protect everything for the event, which begins March 3. In some cases, the planting had not even begun when record-low temperatures came to Central Florida.

“As far as the Flower and Garden festival , because we know we’re going to do it, and because we have to start in the winter, we just generally plan that there’s going to be a bad freeze.,” says Eric Darden, horticulture manager for the festival. “Most years there’s not. But by taking that tactic, that way we’re not surprised. We were surprised by the length, but it didn’t hurt us.”

Plants for the flower towers and floating gardens weren’t planted until last week, after the cold passed. Should we get, just slap me, another freeze, the flower towers will be moved into greenhouses.

The earlier start for the festival (previously, it began in late March or April), changed the floral lineup a bit, and it should be more colorful than ever, Darden says.

“Most of the flowers that we’re using certainly for most of the festival are our winter annuals, such as pansies, petunias, things like that. They can take a frost,” he says. “The advantage we take from that, in most people’s opinions, those are the prettiest annuals. They are more vibrant.”

Darden says this year’s festival will have a record number of topiaries.

“We have enough greenhouse space for all 100 topiaries,” he says. “It was a little tight for a while, and they probably stayed in a little longer than they liked, but they’re fine.”

The festival runs March 3 through May 16, and is included in regular park admission.

Tags: Disney World, Epcot, Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival