THE ROOT OF IT ALL The first Flower & Garden Festival bloomed in April 1994 and lasted only 38 days . Guests then wouldn ’ t spend their time queuing for a Violet Lemonade or jamming out to Vertical Horizon at Garden Rocks . Instead , it was a smaller , more focused affair , with fewer topiaries and more lecture series about horticulture .
“ It was our director ’ s idea at the time : Katy Moss Warner ,” said Debbie Mola Mickler , one of the Area Managers of Horticulture at Walt Disney World . “ Now she ’ s retired , but while she was here , she really promoted horticulture . At the time , EPCOT was looking for ideas for festivals or things to do . She pitched the Flower & Garden Festival , and that ’ s how it all started … Katy had all of us in horticulture come out , no matter where we worked — Magic Kingdom , any of the other parks — and we came to EPCOT to pitch in and do displays and transform the gardens . It took so many people .”
And that was only year one . Since then , Debbie watched the festival grow and change into a 100-plus-day celebration . This year ' s festival has more than 70 topiaries , small gardens dotted throughout World Showcase , a concert series , a scavenger hunt , more than 20 food locations with spring- and summer-inspired menus around the park , and floating gardens and vibrant flower beds everywhere you look . Making a festival of this scale happen takes a lot of hard work — and green thumbs .
A dedicated team at the Walt Disney World Nursery oversees the lush greenery found throughout the resort . PHOTO BY ABBY RICHARDSON
A peek inside the nursery . PHOTOS BY ABBY RICHARDSON
MEET DEBBIE In her role today , Debbie manages the Walt Disney World Nursery . The Flower & Garden Festival is certainly her team ’ s biggest event , but she works year-round supporting the parks and hotels . When we first met , her team had recently finished installing — and then quickly removing — temporary displays for the filming of the holiday special at Magic Kingdom .
Debbie went to school for agriculture and initially worked in the New York City tri-state area , where she grew up . But winters hit hard in the Northeast , so Debbie eventually moved to Orlando in search of a job where she could use her skills year-round . She found a gig as a gardener at Walt Disney World — and never left .
Debbie surveys a project in its early stages . PHOTO BY ABBY RICHARDSON
“ I ’ ve been here so long , I ’ ve practically grown up here ,” she joked .