Think of the nation’s most spectacular gardens and Disneyland probably doesn’t pop to the top of your list. With more than 800 species of plants, the Southern California park is one of the most diverse botanical locations in the U.S.
While the kids are riding Pirates of the Caribbean, you can wander around and stare at the botanical offerings. Anyway, that’s what I did on a recent trip. If you haven’t been lately there’s more to see than masses of bedding plants shaped like character heads. One of the most interesting trends: The gardeners rely heavily on edibles in the landscape. You’ll see many, many edibles including orange trees and kumquats in mixed borders, strawberries as ground covers and lettuce in place of bedding plants. In the companion park, California Adventure, you can see a small vineyard and orange groves. Loved the playful displays of succulents in the Bug’s Life section of the park.
Some horticultural facts from the Disney people:
—The gardeners at the park plant more than 1 million annual bedding plants each year.
—The landscape includes about 17,000 trees and 100,000 shrubs.
—The Mickey Mouse flower portrait at the main entrance is planted nine times a year.
—The grounds are watered with more than 60,000 drip emitters and sprinkler heads.
—There are 58 miles of landscape irrigation pipe underground.
—The oldest living tree at the park is a Mugho pine that is 2 feet tall and 150 years old. It’s located in the Storybook Land attraction.
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