FunWithDisney
plants began. It’s no wonder
that when my family
moved to Florida in the
1980s that she immersed
herself in learning about
her new terrain, reading
and researching what
was possible and how
she could cultivate those
delicate Caribbean blooms
she remembered from
her childhood in her new
home. In fact, I think the
reason why my family
ended up holding season
passes to Disney World was
because of the undeniably
spectacular display that all
of Orlando’s Disney parks
took care to exhibit, starting
each spring.
the first time I ever paid
attention to a topiary was
at Disney, where greenery
and rare blooms are artfully
arranged to compliment the
stories that the parks rely
on to produce much of its
appeal. Long before Epcot
began branding its Flower
and Garden festival as such
in 1994, Disney World and,
later, its complimentary
sister parks, was known
for bringing horticultural
extravagance to life using
all manner of plants –
everything from modest
sphagnum moss and
creeping jasmine to the
more difficult-to-cultivate
orchids and titan arum.
With over 90 individual
I am almost certain that topiaries on display,
featuring over 70 beloved
Disney characters, this
year’s 26th Annual Epcot
Flower and Garden Festival
(March 6 to June 3) is not to
be missed. March, though,
in my humble opinion, is
the best time to catch the
show, when it is newly-
revealed and the warmest
temp eratures hover
somewhere just below 80
degrees.
March, though? March is for
secret midnight forays into
the orange groves. Dinner
al fresco on the lanai. And,
for we adventurous and
romantic souls, skinny-
dipping by moonlight.
March is also a particularly
convenient time for Orange
County’s Public Schools
to schedule spring break.
(That would be March 18 to
22 this year, for all you West
Orange seniors reading
Life in Orlando isn’t for along at home. Mark your
wimps. I think everyone calendars.)
can agree that navigating a
vehicle through rush hour I never wanted to go
traffic on Interstate 4 is quite anywhere for spring break.
enough evidence to prove I had everything I needed
my claim, but an Orlando right at home and a yellow,
summer can be positively four-speed, 1979 Toyota
heart-attack inducing. Tercel with faux sherpa seat
MARCH 2019
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE |
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