From Holland to Home
If you visit Forest Park in the next few weeks, you might spy dozens of Forest Park Forever staff members and volunteers methodically planting more than 60,000 bulbs and flowering plants before the winter frost sets in.
And though their efforts may not seem glamorous now, come April those teams can boast of being part of the Park’s most glorious time of year.
“The work we’re doing now will enhance every Park visitor’s experience in the spring,” Forest Park Forever’s Horticulture Superintendent Roman Fox says. “Almost 12,000 of the bulbs we’ll be planting are perennials, so they’ll be back several years in a row. In April and May, they’ll bloom with nearly 39,000 annual bulbs to provide bursts of color throughout the Park.”
Forest Park is home for Fox on a massive scale. Just as he would place his plantings carefully at his own home to accentuate, rather than hide, his house’s features, Fox works with his team to help each of the Park’s plantings play its unique role — and their work doesn’t end with flowers.
“We know from a design standpoint what we’re going to do with the floral plantings, but we also take care of the trees,” Fox explains. “Flowers are the ‘pop,’ but trees dominate the landscape. They are more eternal and deliver the real experience of Forest Park.”
Fox and his team’s work is a year-long balancing act between day-to-day maintenance and long-term improvement, but it’s all done with one goal in mind.
“The most important thing we do for all of our plants is make sure that they are thriving for our visitors,” he says. “We want the plants to feel at home in Forest Park, too.”
Location! Location! Location!
A lot of thought goes into deciding which plants to order, and where to place each and every one in the Park’s nearly 1,300 acres.
“We include a lot of dynamic components to create different experiences throughout the seasons,” Fox says. “Nothing is singular in Forest Park.”
And there is certainly nothing singular about all of those bulbs. Forest Park Forever horticulturalists selected them for their many vibrant colors, many of which result from hundreds of years of careful breeding. More than half of them come directly from Holland.
The other flowering plants include alliums, pansies, foxglove, phlox and Texas bluebonnets. Plantings in each of the Park’s 14 bed locations are carefully designed to accentuate the Park’s features.
“The welcome areas, like the eight beds near the World’s Fair Pavilion, let visitors know that they’ve arrived at someplace special,” Fox says. “Other beds, like those on Art Hill, frame the architectural features there, including the Art Museum and the Apotheosis of St. Louis statue.
“We think everything through to provide a lasting experience,” Fox says.
Great Views!
Whether tulips, flowers or trees, plants are included in all of Forest Park Forever’s capital projects — major efforts to improve and maintain the Park for the long term.
“Every capital project includes trees and other green assets,” Fox says. “That ensures that even buildings will continue to grow and change year-round, for the benefit of everyone.”
You can play a role, too. By connecting with Forest Park Forever, you will support the organization’s year-round efforts to make the Park everyone’s favorite home . . . Now & Forever!