As Epcot's 16th International Flower and Garden Festival swings into full bloom I thought it would be a good time to share some facts about Disney World's wonderful horticultural staff and the magic they create.

The staff is made up of over 600 gardeners, arborists, irrigation specialists and pest management specialists. Speaking of pest management specialists, did you know that Disney World releases over 10 1/2 million beneficial insects each year to protect all of their plants?

For the Flower and Garden Festival they will plant over 300,000 bedding plants in Epcot. It is estimated that 30 million blooms will decorate Epcot during the 75 days of the festival.

The talented staff at Disney World is not limited to keeping busy during the Flower and Garden Festival, they are quite busy year round.

Across all of the Walt Disney World resorts and theme parks over 3 million bedding plants and annuals are planted each year.

Nearly 13,000 roses have been planted throughout the resort. Over 400 hours per year are spent in removing the spent blooms from all of the rose gardens.

Do you like mowing? The folks at Disney World do a lot of it. Nearly 450,000 mowing miles are logged to keep the 2,000 acres of grassy areas looking their best.

Approximately 800 hanging baskets are on display at any one time throughout the Resort and of the 4,000 that are created each year, many are planned up to a year in advance to meet the needed themes.

How about shrubs? Over 4 million shrubs are maintained on the Disney World property.

Disney's fine staff does an excellent job of keeping the landscaping looking wonderful year round throughout the resort. Although they do not get the accolades that the Imagineers or some of the front line Cast Members get, they certainly contribute to the magic of a Disney World vacation.