Shrubbery (Park Landscaping)
- Thread starter chickenking
- Start date
I think BGW's strong suit in regards to park beauty is the land it's on... The actual landscaping has definitely taken a hit in recent years, but the Rhine with Nessie and Co. will always be an iconic theme park landscape.
With all this talk of the Landscaping being cut back, I thought I would go out and take pictures of what the garden beds at the park look like. Most of them are very beautiful. I will say, most of the empty areas or bare looking areas seemed to have bushes or vines that were cut back and dead, probably because they have not grown in yet. With that said, it will probably be a couple more weeks before those bushes and vines start to really become noticeable and beautiful.
In the meantime, check out all the pretty flowers!
In the meantime, check out all the pretty flowers!
Party Rocker, thank you for all the pics! I myself took the same photos on Saturday, if not more! You saved me the trouble of posting them.
After all the posts I read about people complaining about there being no flowers, and lack of bushes, I went out of my way Saturday to actually look around and take pictures. I was greeted with flowers the moment I parked in the England lot. There were flower beds at every turn, including every window box. Flowers hanging from sides of buildings, planters. I mean geez, there were even flowers planted next to the bathroom entrance in Ireland!
I saw tons of new bushes planted throughout the park. Small ones mind you, that will take some time to grow. I saw absolutely no issues with flowers or bushes in the park. There can't be flowers in every single square inch of dirt in the park. They did a great job of spacing everything out. For those on the forum that were complaining, I see no basis for those posts.
I really don't understand what some people expect.
After all the posts I read about people complaining about there being no flowers, and lack of bushes, I went out of my way Saturday to actually look around and take pictures. I was greeted with flowers the moment I parked in the England lot. There were flower beds at every turn, including every window box. Flowers hanging from sides of buildings, planters. I mean geez, there were even flowers planted next to the bathroom entrance in Ireland!
I saw tons of new bushes planted throughout the park. Small ones mind you, that will take some time to grow. I saw absolutely no issues with flowers or bushes in the park. There can't be flowers in every single square inch of dirt in the park. They did a great job of spacing everything out. For those on the forum that were complaining, I see no basis for those posts.
I really don't understand what some people expect.
Matthew said:
This. I can't speak for when many people on here first visited the park, but for those who have been going to the park since before, say, 2011, you will notice a massive decrease in overall landscaping quality and quantity. When a place continues to deliver unrivaled beauty for so many years and suddenly decides to face (not yet take) the minimalist, people are bound to notice a difference. Heck, even KD is capitalizing on this market now.
It's not just things that haven't grown in yet. I don't expect the park to go all-out with the green spray paint or only plant evergreens. But look at all of these gardens that are just nonexistent anymore. Planters (particularly in San Marco, and on its bridge) are gone left and right, gardens that used to have flowers have been filled in with just grass (*cough* entrance), trees have been ripped out for steroid-fed mollusks, extremely intricate touches have been slashed... and so forth.
With that said, there are plenty of areas that still look great. I could spend all day in the lush, shady tranquility of the Wild Reserve. Aquitaine's flowers really brighten the area. The natural shrubbery of the park is still looking great (though I still hate the loss of trees on the northern side of the park), but the man-made gardens have taken a huge it. I still remember how welcoming and flat-out amazing some of their gardens were.
It's like a potato chip, once you've had it once you need more. And when it's taken away... well...
Let me put my argument this way. When the park first opened it was complete bashing of no flowers, no bushes, etc. There was nothing about how many flowers there still are, it was nothing but no flowers. I posted these pictures to support my argument that, yes while there are many areas that look bare there are still a great deal of places that have tons of beauty. I do not reject the point that there has been missing shrubbery. I am sure there is, but it is not the the extreme that has misled people to believe. The way the concerns were posted was in a tone that made it seem there was actually nothing. In reality there is still a lot; however, I do agree there are some place I am slightly concerned about.
With that said, most of the areas that I noticed bare, was mostly due to dead bushes or vines hoping to make their way back to life in a few weeks. My concerns were more related to the vines. I noticed some vines were cut so far back that, I have doubts if they will regrow back to their typical length.
I am not concerned with replacing some gardens with grass because grass is just like any other plant. It can come and go and I think when used in a certain way it can compliment the surrounding areas very nicely and help bring out more color. With that said, if they just leave the grass there for multiple seasons, I'd be more concerned.
Also, I have been visiting the park since at least 2001 and I personally have not noticed any issue with the gardens. This year to me seemed slightly different because I have noticed it looks as if the flowers are slightly more spaced out than I would prefer, but I assume they will grow into their spots and really fill up the space.
With that said, most of the areas that I noticed bare, was mostly due to dead bushes or vines hoping to make their way back to life in a few weeks. My concerns were more related to the vines. I noticed some vines were cut so far back that, I have doubts if they will regrow back to their typical length.
I am not concerned with replacing some gardens with grass because grass is just like any other plant. It can come and go and I think when used in a certain way it can compliment the surrounding areas very nicely and help bring out more color. With that said, if they just leave the grass there for multiple seasons, I'd be more concerned.
Also, I have been visiting the park since at least 2001 and I personally have not noticed any issue with the gardens. This year to me seemed slightly different because I have noticed it looks as if the flowers are slightly more spaced out than I would prefer, but I assume they will grow into their spots and really fill up the space.
Party Rocker said:
Well said. Yes, I too saw a lot of different plants that just haven't bloomed yet due to being too early in the season. I was very content with what flowers and shrubbery were there. I'm sure the average guest will be more than happy. The extremists will always compare the past and will never be happy. All this aside, and like I've said before, I'm no Bush Counter. I always enjoy myself when I go, and I look forward to the remainder of the season.
Oh, at least people aren't complaining about the trees not having their leaves on them yet.
I remember 20 years ago all the trees had their leaves on them by now. The least the park could have done was place heaters and blankets around the trees. LOL
Planters everywhere. Trees everywhere. Tons of potted plants all along the front of the Globe.
Zachary, I did make a point to say, I did not doubt there has been missing shrubbery. Keep in mind that before you posted that picture the first time, not many people noticed. If something like that can go unnoticed, does it really affect anything?
I don't want to provoke you, I am just very interested in knowing what difference is really caused by things of this nature.
Also, as a disclaimer, I do not take responsibility for those comments left by Cody and Malsdad. I only slightly agree with their viewpoint, but in the extremity they portray it.
I don't want to provoke you, I am just very interested in knowing what difference is really caused by things of this nature.
Also, as a disclaimer, I do not take responsibility for those comments left by Cody and Malsdad. I only slightly agree with their viewpoint, but in the extremity they portray it.
Party Rocker said:
This. Many areas simply are still in "winter mode" and aren't ready to fully bloom for the springtime yet. It's hard to judge the "fullness" of what exists this early on. However, as you mention, things have been cut back or removed altogether so that it would be physically impossible for them to grow back to the lushness they once were at. This is what strikes me.
I disagree with this. Replacing lush, bright flowers with a grass field is an extremely minimalist thing to do. A stretch of grass is obviously no where near what a garden looks like. This is why I agree with:
Problem is, lots of areas have already been replaced with grass. :-/
I don't know what you've seen, but I've seen the removal of various gardens, flowers, planters, topiaries, trees, etc.
You realize that flowers aren't like bushes, right? They don't just "grow in" to the extent of bushes. Their leaves will grow out a few inches, but they're not really going to fill out the area any more than they already are. Regardless, this isn't really the issue. They flowers that are there look great, and I really appreciate them. The bigger issue is the flowers that aren't there.
Joe, like I said in my previous post, if large trees like what they had in Banbury Cross can be taken away and not noticed until someone puts a picture out and points it out, then there is a lot that can go unnoticed. Like I said I haven't noticed things too much, but I am sure there planters specifically have been moved or removed. It's not something you really notice, unless you focus on it especially over a time frame that consists of years rather than weeks or months.
I wasn't saying flowers will grow in like bushes, but the flowers do seem spaced apart a tad bit more in a way that the beds do look sparse, somewhat. I assume when they grow and addition al inch or two, the spacing won't annoy me so much.
Sure grass is minimalist, but like I said, when used in certain ways, it can help bring out the look of a garden with bright colors. I'd have to find an example to show you.
I wasn't saying flowers will grow in like bushes, but the flowers do seem spaced apart a tad bit more in a way that the beds do look sparse, somewhat. I assume when they grow and addition al inch or two, the spacing won't annoy me so much.
Sure grass is minimalist, but like I said, when used in certain ways, it can help bring out the look of a garden with bright colors. I'd have to find an example to show you.
No, it is about things that you have noticed missing in this time period, right now. As I said, if you compare over the course of years, things have gone unnoticed. But the argument is based on last year versus this year, not over the course of many years. This topic was brought up because someone felt that this year did not have enough flowers compared to last year.
Time is key here. No one noticed the trees in Banbury Cross were gone until Zach posted a picture and said something. This shows that over longer periods of time like many years, things go unnoticed.
Time is key here. No one noticed the trees in Banbury Cross were gone until Zach posted a picture and said something. This shows that over longer periods of time like many years, things go unnoticed.
Yes, negative changes that go unnoticed won't go unnoticed forever. By continually creeping our expectations lower and lower, the quality can suffer without it seeming "as bad."
I'll bet people didn't realize a certain world-class park was falling so hard until they started plopping movie-themed rides everywhere. Then everyone looked around and realized how everything had snowballed.
I'll bet people didn't realize a certain world-class park was falling so hard until they started plopping movie-themed rides everywhere. Then everyone looked around and realized how everything had snowballed.
I barely notice dead/missing flowers in my own yard. That's just me though 
Regardless, I am not going to judge their landscaping, until it stops snowing. Although I wonder how much of a role budget constraints are playing in what y'all are seeing.
I don't think that is always true. There are changes that will go unnoticed forever. That said, I get what your saying with creeping our expectations lower.
In relation to shrubbery, they probably made the wrong cuts in the wrong spots and invested that money into something that can be either really amazing or really tragic or even somewhere in between. We will just have to wait and see how things play out.
In relation to shrubbery, they probably made the wrong cuts in the wrong spots and invested that money into something that can be either really amazing or really tragic or even somewhere in between. We will just have to wait and see how things play out.
I am sure, when the weather improves, say late April or early May, they will have more of a permanent plan for the landscaping. They are just putting in annuals now, which are cheap. You don't want to keep replanting more expensive plants due to the weather.