May 6, 2018 6 min read

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Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

Disney horticulturalists added millions of flowers and plants to Epcot’s landscaping for the International Flower & Garden Festival, which ends May 28.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

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Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Pluto topiaries welcome visitors to the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

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If your green thumb is itching to get going and you’re looking for inspiration for your spring garden, there’s no better place to get some new ideas than at Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World in Florida. This spring, the annual fun, colorful festival marks its 25th year, so there’s no better time than now to take in all of the blooms and buds.

The festival, which kicked off in late February and runs through the end of May, features breathtaking gardens and international flora with a large variety of food and festivities.

Colorful characters

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk through the front gates are colorful character topiaries, like Minnie Mouse and Goofy, who will welcome you into the showcase of more than 30 million blooms.

The Future World and World Showcase grounds come alive with other specialty gardens and even mounds of bright blooms dotting the ponds and fountains as floating gardens. Flowers, trees and topiaries shaped like butterflies catch your eye as they complement the natural flora throughout the park. The Walk Disney World horticulture staff has worked its magic with these character topiaries, but also with some dazzling and interesting gardens for guests.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

Some of the new additions this year include the “How-To Garden” and “The Imagination Play Garden” which are perfect for adults and kids to enjoy together. Crowd favorites return with “The Goodness Garden Butterfly House” and “The Water Wise Garden” showcasing environmental responsibility and nature’s beauty.

As for your favorite Disney characters, keep your eye out for topiaries shapes like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady and The Tramp and Buzz Lightyear. Around the World Showcase, you’ll find specialty gardens featuring bamboo at the China Pavilion, a bonsai collection at the Japan Pavilion, an urban spice garden in Morocco and cheerful alpine container gardens at Germany.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

Rocking the garden

This festival is a feast not only for the eyes but also for the ears and the mouth. Music and food take center stage as you work your way through Epcot’s Future World toward the World Showcase, which features restaurants, shops and attractions from cultures around the globe. This year, the festival gets rocking on weekends with the “Garden Rocks Concert Series” each Friday through Monday of the festival.

The lineup features favorite artists from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s rocking out at the America Gardens Theatre with three shows each evening. Some of the big names performing include Night Ranger, Rick Springfield, Survivor, the Village People and the Spinners.

Behind-the-scenes tours

While the festival blossoms all around you, one of the fun ways to get the inside track and learn the latest in gardening techniques is to take one of the behind-the-scenes tours offered during the festival.

What will you see? There are tours of The Land pavilion greenhouses. “Gardens of the World – Spring Edition” featuring displays from different countries showcasing their native plants and flowers. For tea lovers, there’s a daily “Royal Tea Garden Tour” at the United Kingdom pavilion that includes – of course – a tea tasting.

Outdoor kitchens

What would a festival be without fabulous food and drinks? The offerings here are so good they come dangerously close to upstaging the flowers and gardens.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

Epcot has created 15 outdoor kitchens around the World Showcase for this year’s festival. These are “pop up” kitchens in addition to the permanent restaurants, and their creations are stunning. Many of the recipes focus on plant themes and some even incorporate flowers.

These mini kitchens have fun names like “The Honey Bee-Stro” (featuring roasted cauliflower with buckwheat honey carrot purée and local wildflower honey-mascarpone cheesecake with orange blossom honey ice cream). Then there’s “The Berry Basket” (featuring a lamb chop with quinoa salad and blackberry gastrique) and “The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brew” (featuring pulled-pork sliders and warm chocolate cake with bourbon-salted caramel sauce and spiced pecans).

We visited the festival the first week it opened and, had we known just how much sumptuous fare was offered at the Outdoor Kitchens, we may have cancelled our dinner reservation at one of the regular restaurants.

We started our tour around World Showcase at the Mexico Pavilion, where we spotted festive topiaries of the Three Caballeros: Jose, Donald and Panchito. The outdoor kitchen there is called “Jardin de Fiestas” and we sampled the delicious, savory pork taco with apple relish, goat cheese and a chile de árbol sauce. To wash it down, we chose a rose margarita, which was the most delicious margarita I’ve ever tasted. We sipped our drinks as we strolled past the tropical rainforest garden on display with dazzling sprays of orchids hanging all around.

That was just one of the 15 pop-up kitchens highlighting spring garden offerings in a beautiful setting of extra plants, trees, flowers and shrubs that are blossoming around Epcot this spring. The 25th anniversary Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs through May 28.

For more information, visit epcotinspring.com.

Kristin Emery/For the Observer-Reporter

When to go: The 25th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs through May 28. Remember that you’ll have to purchase admission to Epcot. For a complete schedule of activities, visit Epcotinspring.com.

What to see: Behind the scenes garden tours include Gardens of the World Tour (spring edition), the English Tea Garden Tour and Royal Tea Garden Tour. Each requires an extra fee. Call 407-WDW-TOUR for times and prices.

Dinner & a show: Check the lineup for the Garden Rocks Concert Series to find some great entertainers performing at the festival. Friday-Monday evenings each week feature three performances – 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. – and you can pair a meal at several Epcot restaurants with reserved concert seating. Call 407-WDW-DINE for packages and reservations.