Why the bloom is never off the rose at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival

“How is that possible?,” you ask. It’s simple, really. They’re not the same bedding plants that Epcot started out with when Flower & Garden initially opened back on March 18th.

“When Walt Disney World made the decision to turn Flower & Garden into a 75-day-long festival, we knew that our bedding plants wouldn’t be able to make it through the entire run of the show,” explained Eric Darden, horticultural manager of the show. “Which is why we then made plans to swap out all of our winter bedding plants with warmer season flowers in mid-April.”

This work is typically done in the early morning hours. With Epcot’s gardeners coming in between 3 – 5 a.m. and then using gas-powered augurs and portable light towers to help speed them through their early morning task.

“They quickly pull out the original bedding plant, rake that space and refertilize,” Eric continued. “Then they slap in a new flat of bedding plants. And you’ve then got a garden that’s just as colorful as the first one was.”

As a direct result of this practice … Well, it’s like you get two Flower and Garden Festivals in one. Darden talked about how some local gardening enthusiasts make a point of visiting the show when it first opens in March and then returning to Epcot in late April / early May just to see what changes have been made within the park.

“We do try and match colors,” Eric admitted. “But given how vibrant the violas are, sometimes that’s just not possible. So sometimes there’ll be subtle changes. While in other cases, the changes to the Park’s bedding plants can be quite dramatic.”

Of course, as the 2009 International Flower & Garden Festival draws to close, Darden’s already been in meetings for next year’s event. Which he promises will be just as this year’s fest.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the theme. All I can do is tell you that I’ve already been in meeting with the Company’s key creatives,” Eric said. “We’re just starting the approval process and begun setting deadlines for next year’s show. Beyond that, all I can say is that our character topiaries – which the public really seems to love – will be back, bigger & better than ever in 2010.”

And could next year’s International Flower & Garden Festival possibly push out beyond this year’s 75 day run?

“You know, it wasn’t all that long ago that Flower & Garden was just a 38-day-long event,” Darden remembered. “But then it got extended to 45 days, and then 60 days in 2007. So if the Company wants us to push the Festival out beyond 75 days, I’m sure that we could figure out how to make that happen. Maybe we’d then have to a third planting. Replace those warmer weather bedding plants with something that can really take the Florida heat.”

Which would give Central Florida residents a third reason to return to Epcot each spring.