One of my favorite tasks is trimming the topiary at Curse of DarKastle. Rather than following the usual patterns of spirals, espaliers, cones, etc., I get a chance to make the crazed adventures of the ride to life.
Near the beginning of the queue, there are two juniper poodles that get a very loose trim, so they remain shaggy, yet clipped. You can compare those to the tightly trimmed ones at Sesame Street Forest of Fun, and see what a difference the treatment makes to the themes in each area.
DarKastle has a blue cedar to fill a window space in the castle, while at the same time not impeding foot traffic for those in line. Therefore, we get a “tree on a tree.”
Then there’s a work-in-progress: converting six spiral juniper into plants with flat sides, essentially stacked “blocks” of green. Each new trim further corrects the shape toward the goal.
Allowing the park’s themes to drive the concepts of our work creates challenges and opportunities to engineer the plants in new and exciting ways. Can’t wait to see what the new season will bring for us to work on.
