Beautiful flowers, plants, gardens, greenery and trees adorn the park's 364 acres and blend in with the surroundings of one of the world's most popular amusement parks.

The Midway Gardens

The gardens on Cedar Point's main midway have become an attraction in themselves over the years. Bright colored flowers and unusual designs combine to create a showcase of floral patterns and arrangements. Perhaps the most ideal place to appreciate this landscaping art is from the Sky Ride or the Space Spiral – a bird's-eye-view.

A favorite floral bed is traditionally the American flag created in flowers. The 32-foot-by-50-foot flower garden contains red and white begonias and blue ageratums, forming the symbol of American patriotism on Cedar Point's main midway.

In the winter, the floral patterns are drawn on a blueprint and divided into grids. When it is time for planting, the beds are divided into grids using string, and the design is created by planting the flowers in the corresponding grid. Most of the plants and flowers are identified with a marker telling its name, so interested guests can admire and study the horticulture in detail.

Landscaping Staff

Landscape Supervisor Tom Roberts leads a crew of seven full-time employees and 16 seasonal workers to keep Cedar Point fresh and green. The team is responsible for all outdoor landscaped vegetation, including trees, shrubs and grass, as well as flowers.

Flower Power

Flowers have played an important role in Cedar Point's popularity since the park opened in 1870. Each year more than 25,000 flowers are planted to create the kaleidoscopes of color.

Beginning in May, Cedar Point is transformed into a flowered showcase when the first flowers are planted. It's a critical time of year, as many parts of Ohio are still susceptible to frost until mid-May. But Lake Erie acts as a moderating influence on Cedar Point, allowing the planting to begin very early.

The flowers are all grown by greenhouses in the Northern Ohio area. Cedar Point preorders its plants so everything will be available when the planting season begins.

Once Cedar Point opens and all the flowers are planted, a massive maintenance program begins. The days start early for the landscaping team. All the grass inside the park is mowed between 6-10 a.m. , so the park will be ready for guests when it opens each day. Then dozens of flower beds must be weeded, cultivated, sprayed, watered and fertilized. A mile of hedges must be trimmed. Flowers that lose their blooms in early summer must be replaced.

Off-Season Activities

Lawn reconstruction starts at the end of August. Some areas are seeded, while sod is used in critical areas. When the park closes, trees are planted, the season is re-evaluated and projects for next year are planned. Raking leaves that have fallen from the hundreds of trees in the park keeps the staff busy until December. In the winter, the landscape crew trims shrubs and small trees and tackles fence repairs. They also clear snow from sidewalks near the Cedar Point offices.

Outside contractors move in to trim trees and take down those which must be removed. And most importantly, blueprints are drawn up so the landscapers are ready to implement the projects that will delight Cedar Point guests when the park reopens in the spring. As soon as winter weather permits, the landscaping team does its spring cleaning. Fallen tree limbs and leftover leaves are removed from the midways, flower beds and lawns.

Get Growing

In April, the park's nearly 500 rose bushes are pruned and mulched. Other crews work on the project site of any new attraction, making sure the scars of construction are covered by greenery as soon as possible. And just as in any backyard, a soon as the grass starts growing, the hum of lawnmowers can be heard.

It's impossible to list all the kinds of plants that are used at Cedar Point, because the list changes every year. The landscapers want guests to have the opportunity to see a variety of plants every year, and with the exception of five perennial beds, much of the landscaping changes annually. Certain species are used more frequently than others because the department knows from experience what will work well in the park. If a variety of plant has worked well in the past, when it's used again it will be presented a little differently to make every arrangement unique.

Some of the more frequently used annuals are begonias, salvia, geraniums, marigolds, petunias, snapdragons and ageratum. Among the more unusual ornamental plants are spider plants and parsley. Rose varieties include marina, pink peace and sunbrite. Other perennials include rudbeckia and irises.

Cedar Point was named in the 19 th century for the large groves of cedar trees that once covered the peninsula; samples can be found in front of the Breakers Tower along the boardwalk. The park prides itself on preservation of its native trees (cottonwood, ash, oak, hornbeam, cherry). The landscape department is conducting an on-going program to plant a variety of shade and specimen trees, which includes paperback maple, ruby horse chestnut, bald cypress, river birch, columnar crimson king, beech and red jade crabapple.