Katy Moss Warner, Superintendent, Horticulture Division, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (The article was written by the Publicity Department of Walt Disney World.)
Lake Buena Vista, Florida – A podocarpus sea serpent guards the moat around Cinderella Castle. An arborvitae elephant, a Brahma bull of 'East Palatka' holly and a herd of chlorophyl animals seem to graze in fields of annuals at the monorail station.
And creeping fig statues of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck greet visitors headed for the Walt Disney Magic Kingdom.
Disney artists, having given life to hundreds of characters on the screen, are now adding a new twist to the age-old practice of topiary gardening.
The idea was developed by Walt Disney, who always had an eye for show. Disney felt that he could enlarge upon the topiary gardening techniques he had seen in Europe, so he combined the talents of his film animators with those of the Disneyland landscaping department. The result first appeared in Disneyland's Fantasyland area in 1963. The figures were later moved to their permanent location in the forecourt of "It's A Small World" in 1966.
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