Shrubbery (Park Landscaping)

[Mushroom]

New, beautiful shrubbery has spread well beyond the Spring Bloom Festival this year! Kings Dominion is making some serious advances in their landscaping department, and once all of the trees start to fill in, Kings Dominion will look absolutely beautiful. Really, anyone who calls Kings Dominion a "concrete jungle" at this point is just plain crazy.

This thread will for posting whatever landscaping you see (good or bad) that you'd like to share, much like CK's thread about Busch Gardens.

So, here are a few shots I nabbed during opening weekend. I'm an armature photographer for sure, but I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. Enjoy!

Not the neatest shrubbery, but I like this shot with the waterfall in the background.

I freaking love International Street.

It's only a matter of time before lily pads abound over here.

Ugly now, but give it a month or so and this area will look completely different.

Looking down Center Street to the new floral clock.

More to come soon...

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

Wow, they have done an amazing job, I can only imagine what the summer is going to look like once they rotate the plants. I'm astounded!

 

[wombat96]

I did notice they added a lot of Shrubbery on sunday. My only complaint is Congo Safari Village needs more shruberry. Would really help with the theme and look nice on some buildings or rides.

 

[Mushroom]

Ah, yes. 'Tis time to share some photos of the park decked out in its lush summertime shrubbery. The park is more beautiful than I have ever seen it before; it is more beautiful than I could have imagined it would be.

After International Street, Candy Apple Grove is the most beautiful area of the park. Which is ironic, since last year it was by far the ugliest.

Getting closer.

Lush pink flowers galore!

At long last, Safari Village has gotten the shrubbery treatment! This area around Lake Charles was brimming with new landscaping.

This is 1,000 times better than what was in previous seasons a grassy field. Love it!

On the other hand, the shrubbery in Lake Charles has been cut back. It looks more like a lake, and less like a swamp. Beautiful!

Another view of the cleaned-up lake. Anaconda's line stretched halfway through the queue, longer than I have ever seen it before, on a fairly quiet day. I guess all the love it's been given has paid off!

Okay, maybe just one more Anaconda shot.

The side of the lake nearest Backlot is still rather overgrown. For reference, this is what the entire perimeter of the lake used to look like.

I really love the maze of foliage in the middle of Safari Village. But what do we have here...?

Mr. Elephant joins the gang of safari animals in the village!

I love the surplus of waterfalls and streams in the park, and this one, with its dense foliage and shrubbery, is so serene and scenic.

Are we at Kings Dominion or Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions?

The Spring Bloom Festival may be gone for the season, but the beautiful shrubbery sure isn't!

The strip of flowers along the International Street fountains really makes the village seem so lush.

Give me a sleeping bag and I could live on International Street.

Keep in mind I photograph for quantity, not quality. But, in my opinion, the park is stunningly gorgeous now. If the park gets rid of that horrid asphalt (and rids Candy Apple Grove of pop music while they're at it), then they could be almost as pretty as Busch Gardens. That's not to compare the two, or to imply anything negative. All I'm saying is the park is looking so beautiful, they are working hard so that Virginia has two beautiful theme parks for us to enjoy!

I'll try to upload some more soon!

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

Wow, the park looks absolutely stunning. Honestly, if this is only after one year of work with shrubbery, I think if we wait a couple years, the park could almost have the amount of flower beds, and beautiful Shrubbery as BGW. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting BGW down, or anything like that, because really, I want both parks to be on the same level of quality. It will give very close competition to BGW, who hasn't experienced it in 20+ years.

However, from what I've noticed and collected, KD does not grow their own shrubbery. They seem to just buy it from an outside company, and have the landscaping department plant, and maintain it. However, this could possibly be a lot more expensive, which could hold them back a bit from reaching their total potential. In other words, they don't have the countless Green-houses to produce shrubbery 'in-house' as BGW does, which could be a lot more expensive than just buying the seeds to grow it themselves. However, once they do start making their shrubbery in-house, their potential is only going to skyrocket.

I have noticed BGW getting a little bit nervous about the sudden shrubbery expansion at KD, because compared to last year, BGW is adding flower beds, pots, and shrubs all around. Compared to last year, where flower beds went missing, and shrubbery wasn't well maintained.(via. Darkastle Shrubbery overgrown)

But, KD's looking entirely more beautiful. If all the asphalt was replaced, it would look amazing. Plus I love the pavers, probably even a little more than BGW's aggregate, because the pavers don't crack, unlike how BGW's aggregate tends to do. Keep up the good work KD, you're doing good for both parks.

 

[Mushroom]

Part 2!

Old Virginia has gotten some love. Shenandoah Lumber Co. was looking great with flowers surrounding the queue and the flume itself.

The combination of dense shrubbery and scenic water features are one of the reasons why Old Virginia is such a relaxing village in the park.

The summertime rendition of the floral clock is looking brighter and fuller than before! It sure is purty (perty?).

Earlier this season I was concerned that since it wasn't its inaugural season anymore, it wasn't getting any nice landscaping, but after long last it has been given a bright blast of flowers and shrubbery!

I'll never get enough pictures of this.

At first this worried me, because I thought this was a patch of dying, forgotten springtime flowers...

...but upon closer inspection, I discovered they're just summertime flowers getting ready to bloom.

Yay for Planet Snoopy landscaping!

I sure envy Snoopy for getting to live in such a beautiful area. I love the patches of landscaping surrounding the riverbed.

It's not as intricate as it was last season, but it's still pleasant.

One of the great things about being a junior fan is you can enjoy Planet Snoopy as long as you like without looking creepy.

Joe Cool, playin' it cool.

Woodstock topiaries guard the shrubbery surrounding the Peanuts Playhouse stage.

"On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys to all the children."

"There he is! There he is! It's the Great Pumpkin! He's rising out of the pumpkin patch!"

Ahoy, shrubbery ho!

I love all the water features in Planet Snoopy. This pond looks great with all the new flowers.

Much like the flowers by the Planet Snoopy entrance, the flowers in front of Dinner Bell are just starting to bloom.

Outer Hanks: Shrubbery Shack.

The park seems to be having a fungus problem.

The detailed architecture of Victoria's Pizza and the Victoria Gardens provide an excellent backdrop for another Candy Apple Grove picture.

Let's wrap things up with a picture of Candy Apple Grove's centerpiece, the Carousel.

Whelp, that's it for now, but honestly these pictures do no justice to how stunning the park is. If I were shown these pictures in 2010, I would have laughed and applauded whoever showed them to me for their Photoshop skills. It makes me so happy to see my beloved home park looking so full of life. Ride Right on, Kings Dominion, right on!

 

[Lord Robert]

If you wanted to know something interesting about that woman statue in International Street is that it's the same statue that used to be in front of Beserker in the 1980's but during the Paramount era it vanished. Now it's come back to International Street (found in storage no doubt) for the 40th, okay now that's cool.

 

[Jonquil]

Beautiful! Thanks so much for the pictures, Joe! I grew up going to KD and dare I say the park is looking even more beautiful than it did in the 80s and 90s! I hope I can get there this summer, but I'm not sure since I suffered a disabling injury this year, so at least I can see it through great pictures like these.

 

[Mushroom]

Gosh, thanks for the kind words, jonquil! I sure hope you get to make it to the park this year, but I am honored to be able to help out if you're not able to. Hopefully I'll be able to grab some more pictures to share soon.

 

[Mushroom]

With all the all the attention on BGW's landscaping recently, I'd say it's time to take a look at the shrubbery that's bloomed at Kings Dominion this season!

The floral planter's spring colors! Note the Spring Bloom decorations to the right.

This delightful planter has appeared across from Berserker on International Street. If you look closely, you'll notice a waterfall coming out of the wooden structure!

Real flowers and fake Spring Bloom flowers... can you tell which is which?

Flower baskets overlooking the International Street fountains.

I really like how this one turned out.

Another Spring Bloom display. Spoiler: the topiary isn't made of real shrubbery.

Another lovely new Spring Bloom display. It's hard to tell here, but the pot in the middle is actually a fountain.

Lush pink flowers in the mist of the Royal Fountain.

This new display offers a change for this flower bed, which is across from Peppermint Patty's Candy Shoppe. For those who don't remember, this bed used to be overgrown with ivy and different bushes... but look at it now!

One of the potted topiaries on International Street.

International Street is absolutely brimming with flowers.

Looking at the back of the entrance planter, you'll see the number "40" etched out in flowers!

Even Panda Express has gotten the shrubbery treatment!

Landscaping surrounding the Eiffel Tower. Honestly, it's not quite as impressive as it was last year.

The flowers are ready for Cirque Imagine to start.

This picture is very blurry-shitty, but it shows some of the flowers that have been added to Old Virginia this season.

The planter is nice, but look how pretty that tree is in bloom!

Colorful flowers below the Flying Eagles.

Posting this for future reference, because in a few months this pond will be covered with lily pads.

I'm assuming these are fake... but here they are nonetheless. Above the Christmas shop on International Street.

New Spring Bloom planters have been added outside the park's gates, as well. This one is near the giant birthday cake.

Let's end with one more shot of International Street's lush landscaping.

That's all for now, guys. I'll try to post pictures of Candy Apple Grove and Safari Village soon. Anyways, I'm happy to say that Kings Dominion's landscaping is absolutely gorgeous this season.

 

[John]

God I love this park.

 

[mwhinva]

I like the new fountain installed in the Country Kitchen pond. With all those water jets, I hope it will keep the water from becoming too stagnate.

 

[mwhinva]

Shrubbery Alert in Soak City! I noticed over the last week that the park has planted 2 new trees on the plot of land between the wave pool and the new slide tower, Hurricane Heights. I caught the web cam when those 2 trees were being planted. Those are the largest living things I have ever seen the park install. I saw the workers next to the tree on the right and that thing must be 25-30 feet high! The one in the middle must be 15-20 high.

The park is at it again this Monday morning on the left of the 2 existing trees. Check out the webcam. More Shrubbery!

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

I'm glad that the park transplanted some large trees to that area. But, honestly, three trees isn't going to cut it, especially considering the rest of the area could pass off as a gravel parking lot. Sod, or just mulch with some small shrubs would've been better, they really could've passed off with no trees planted around the area if they did this. Heck, I think even just plain mulch would've been better than gravel over the whole area.

 

[Hokie305]

Mulch would have to be replaced yearly to continue to look nice... gravel will be better longterm for looks and financially. Mulch fades after less than a month in the summer, and Soak City is open more than 3 months.

Personally, the area in the park that I'd like to see them tackle is removing the fence in between Intimidator 305's plaza/queue and Anaconda. This would allow them to open the views to the lake up and create an interesting landscape. Of course there is the maintenance road there currently, but they could make it work.

 

[Nicole]

What is the problem with annual maintenance on landscaping projects? Honestly, having to replace the mulch once a year is hardly a reasonable argument against it.

 

[Zimmy]

mulch is hard... almost as hard as numbers

 

[Luke]

They should "Roundup" all the plants and replace everything with just rocks.

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

I hate terrible parents. As I was on Delerium, I saw a mother encourage a toddler to pluch the flowers. Not to worry, I did the badass thing and alerted security. You're welcome.

 

[Thomas]

^My solution to this would have been to not have gone to KD at all.