We know you’re probably already planning your Disney trip this summer now that the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival dates have dropped (along with the returning Cheese Crawl and food booths). BUT, the Flower and Garden Festival is still going strong in the parks right now!
Fantasia Topiaries at EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival
While it’s safe to say we whole-heartedly enjoy the entertainment, snacks, and merchandise, it still takes some work to keep the Flower and Garden Festival in tip-top shape for visitors!
Today, the Cast Members were working hard to maintain the topiaries around the Flower and Garden Festival. But, it wasn’t just trimming and clipping, like you’d think! We noticed that a Cast Member was using inserting metal pipes (???) into the display near the entrance of Future World. Obviously, we were pretty intrigued since pipes and flowers don’t seem like your typical gardening combination.
Topiary Maintenance
When we asked what the pipe was used for, the Cast Member was happy to explain that the cone-shaped metal was placed into spots where the topiary was thinning out.
Metal Pipes Being Inserted into the Topiaries
Then, she added the small plant pieces called “plugs” to the holes she made in order to give the finished product a fuller appearance. If you’ve ever wondered how the Flower and Garden topiaries remained so vibrant, you can thank those plant plugs for adding just a bit of extra magic to the displays! We knew Disney was meticulous about keeping its plants in tip-top shae around the parks, but we’re VERY impressed with their creativity in mending the topiaries too!
Plant “Plugs”
That wasn’t the only spot getting some well-needed TLC in EPCOT, though! The Figment Topiary near Journey into Imagination made a new friend as a Cast Member cleaned up the edges.
Figment Topiary
Figment looked pretty happy to be getting a mini manicure…
We Think He Could Use Some Painted Nails
…and a “hair cut” so he could look his best while welcoming everyone to the Imagination Institute. He cleans up nice, don’t you think?
Just a Trim!
As we continue to hop around the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, as well as the rest of the parks, we’ll be sure to give you a sneak peek at everything new we find soon. Stay tuned with DFB for the latest Disney news you need to know!
This Flower and Garden Scavenger Hunt has a new prize!
MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR FESTIVAL DAYS
DFB's Guide to the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival details everything you need to know to maximize your time, budget, and stomach space! Know what's worth it and what to skip with our full-photo menus of each booth, complete with DFB's Best of the Fest.
It includes all the must-have information for navigating this one of the most BEAUTIFUL festivals at Disney World, including:
- ? Booth & food photos, maps, and crawls with DFB's exclusive recommendations!
- ? The COMPLETE schedule of events (so you don't have to go hunting for all the dates!)
- ? All the details on special events, topiaries, festival exclusive merchandise, and more!
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Have you been to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival this year? Let us know in the comments below!
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The metal pipe is called a dibberdibber and it is only used to make the hole for the plant plug. The topiaries are such hard work and the horticulture department works so hard!! All year!
Thanks for the trivia, Sierra!
Interesting…but what does this tell you. It tells me that Disney is cutting back on overnight/when the curtain closes maintenance. To see gardeners out working in public at a high traffic area of the park is very strange to say the lease. Disney does not do anything without good reason. So why the switch from overnight to daytime. Servicing…. Hmmmm
Thank you Ken for that insightfulness! Actually the gardeners, working on the topiaries, in this article have not changed from their regular shift. This was probably the most convenient/easiest time for them to get to the topiaries. They take a lot of maintenance, and with 100+ topiaries to maintain, the gardeners are in the park their entire shift.