Pasco County Master Gardeners recently took a behind-the-scenes tour at Busch Gardens in Tampa, to get a closer look at the theme park’s horticulture, topiaries, turf management and more.
Wayne Porter, supervisor of landscaping, greeted the group of gardeners at the entrance near Busch Gardens’ colossal topiary lion.
Porter, who lives in Pasco County and is a graduate of the University of Florida, gave an overview of the 360-acre theme park.
Jenny Gerard, who graduated from State University of New York, told the group about the theme park’s topiaries.
Although she studied plant pathology and related coursework, she was introduced to topiaries during an internship at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.
She described the process used to create topiaries, comparing a topiary to a human body — complete with a skeleton, muscle structure and skin.
The process of creating a topiary involves using rebar to create the metal structure, using bent metal for the bones and using flexible plastic fiber to create the frame. The figure is then fleshed out sphagnum moss which holds the plants, and plants that simulate images.
Gerard told the group that maintaining topiaries is a painstaking process, involving frequent watering and inspection.
During the tour, master gardeners also were given a close look at the Nativity topiaries, which took four people about a month to create. Materials used to create the Nativity scene includes an abundance of alternanthera, dusty miller, ficus and other materials, as well as coco fiber used to create authentic-looking camel hair.
Gerard also took master gardeners on a tour of Christmas Town, which features 2 million lights and includes a model train and village. That exhibit will be on display until Jan. 7.
Robin Manino, another Busch Gardens employee, led the master gardeners on a tour to show them some of the theme park’s flower beds and baskets. She said the park purchases tiny plant plugs from nurseries and then cultivates the plants.
By Madonna Wise
Published December 20, 2017
