Visiting Disneyland during the winter months can bring inspiration or heartache to the home gardener. Most casual gardeners will take a break from their pots and beds during the winter months. My own garden has a few straggly pansies, yellowed geraniums, brave primroses and pruned, stick-like rose bushes. I try to avert my eyes as I’m walking from my car to the house so I won’t feel their accusing stare. Thank goodness the master landscapers at Disneyland never rest; in the winter, the famous Disneyland roses take a back seat to the creative and colorful ways bulbs and cold weather perennials are used in flowers beds throughout the park. Let’s take a stroll through the park on a typical day in February and be sure to stop and smell the flowers.
Bulbs are used extensively around Main Street. The Train station is surrounded by yellow tulips, a recurring theme around the park. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The beds around Town Square combine yellow pansies, red and white tulips, and stunning purple renunculas. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Where, just a few weeks ago the towering Main Street Christmas Tree stood, white snapdragons now jostle for position. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Even ordinary benches get a color boost with some yellow tulips. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Yellow daffodils are just beginning to show their faces next to City Hall. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Yellow Johnny jump-ups, or Violas, surround the hub in large hanging baskets. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Half of the flower beds in the hub contain dainty English Daisies… Photo by Lisa Perkis.
…while the other beds are blanketed with pansies of every color. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Topiary swans wade in a pool of violet pansies near the castle. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The quiet alcove by the castle, occasionally used for weddings, looks picture-perfect with deep green hedges and profusions of yellow tulips. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Even over at Big Thunder Ranch, red and white tulips brighten the cabin area. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
This year, instead of feeling discouraged and just plain jealous after perusing the landscape at the park, I’m resolving to try out of few of the plants and color schemes I particularly enjoyed. While none of us will ever have Disney-perfect winter gardens (after all, how many of us have an army of landscapers?), perhaps we can take a little inspiration from the park and plant hints of spring here and there in our own gardens.
Happy winter gardening!
