Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival may be known for its plethora of food and drink offerings, but it also plays host to some gorgeous gardens that lend a pop of color to many different locations in the park. Here were some of the ones I checked out on my visit to Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival.
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Festival Blooms and Floating Gardens
Along Future World’s West and East Lakes are absolutely incredible floral designs made to look like giant butterflies and flowers forming a panorama of vibrant purples, yellows, oranges, and pinks. These Festival Blooms are made of some of the most vividly colored flowers I have ever seen. It was stunning. In addition to the terrestrial display are more than 100 small Floating Gardens dotted through the lake. It’s a spectacular sight that is sure to catch your eye!
Butterfly House
One of the crowd favorites of the festival is the Goodness Garden Butterfly House in Future World West. There are lots of different butterfly species fluttering about as well as structures housing chrysalises. The design of the garden is lovely, featuring waterfalls, colorful flowers, and butterfly-attracting plants.
The Butterfly House also offers a fantastic educational opportunity to learn about the life cycle of butterflies, and there are information stations set up throughout the area to explain which butterfly species can be seen, how to plant a butterfly garden, and how caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies.
The How-To Garden
The brilliant How-To Garden, located next to the new Honey Bee-stro food booth, is such a creative look at how to use materials you already have on hand to make fun items to dress up your garden. This includes statues and planters made out of terra cotta pots…
…and adorable topiary pets made from fabric-covered wire frames coated in bark and seeds. It’s a very cute spot!
English Tea Garden
As a tea lover, one of my favorite places to visit during Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival is the English Tea Garden in the United Kingdom Pavilion. It is presented by Twinings of London and features one of the most unique garden displays I’ve seen – plants growing out of giant teacups! Each teacup has an oversized label hanging from it that shows the name of each tea blend represented. The plants are all different ingredients found in Twinings tea blends, such as chamomile, vanilla, lavender, jasmine, and – of course – camellia sinensis from which tea is produced. Signs throughout the garden explain tea’s history and how it is processed.
As a side note, during the 2017 Flower and Garden Festival, I did the Royal Tea Garden Tour for an additional fee. A guide led a 45-minute morning tour through the English Tea Garden before the World Showcase opened to the public, explaining how tea is grown and harvested as well as what made each one of their featured tea blends unique. At the end of the tour, we got a cup of freshly brewed tea, scones, and a sleeve of different varieties of packaged teas from Twinings. It was such an informative tour and the perfect way to start a day of exploring Epcot. If you are a tea lover like me, I recommend it!
Shakespeare Garden
Also located in the United Kingdom Pavilion is a garden dedicated to William Shakespeare complete with quotes from his works celebrating nature and flowers. Several of the flowers planted around a bust of Shakespeare are flowers mentioned in his plays, such as love-in-idleness mentioned in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The flowers are striking colors of orange, red, yellow, white, and purple, so if you are a fan of the playwright or simply like admiring beautiful colors, you’re in for a treat with the Shakespeare Garden.
Urban Spice Garden
The Morocco Pavilion celebrates the rich flavors of the country’s dishes with an Urban Spice Garden full of plants that are harvested for their bold taste. According to the signage, white pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, pistachio, sesame seeds, and star anise are all growing in the garden. This is a great educational spot to see how spices are grown and harvested to add intense flavors to our food.
Bonsai Garden
Admire the art of bonsai in the Japan Pavilion’s Bonsai Garden. Using special cultivation techniques more than one thousand years old, these tiny potted plants are grown as miniature versions of full-sized trees. This is a culturally significant art form in Japan, influenced by Zen Buddhism and traditional philosophies. There are several examples of bonsai around the Japan Pavilion, so keep an eye out so you can see them all.
Canada’s Garden
In the Canada Pavilion is a garden that is not listed as one of the special exhibits, but is so breathtaking that it deserves a mention here. The garden is full of gorgeous and colorful spring flowers planted along a little stream, the focal point being Canada’s maple leaf flag recreated in red and white blooms.
Flower Pots in Italy
Bordering the World Showcase Lagoon is a beautiful display of potted flowers in the Italy Pavilion. This long row of potted plants provides a burst of color against the blue backdrop of the sky and lagoon. Just a stunning display of flowers in every color you can imagine. Apparently potted flowers are popular decorations to put in front of homes and buildings in Italy, and I can certainly see why.
Related Posts
If you would like to read more about the food served at Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival, please see my post Vegetarian-Friendly Treats at Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival.
If you would like to see more photos of the whimsical topiaries at Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival, please see my post Disney-Themed Topiaries at Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival.
(All photos taken by Clara Juliette)
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Clara hopes to share her love of exploring cultures and inspire others through the power of storytelling. In addition to writing and travel, she loves psychology, nature, green tea, and cats.