The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is well under way. This festival is a close second to my favorite (Festival of the Arts). The vibrant blossoms and topiaries are magical. Out of the four Epcot festivals, the Flower and Garden festival usually serves up some of my favorite foods too. These are some of my festival favorites this year and I would love to hear about yours in the comments below.
A World of Color
Even though the amount of floral displays have decreased in recent years to make room for the food booths, the topiaries and flowers are still a feast for the eyes. I love the creativity that goes into these topiaries and searching for some of my favorite characters. The highlights for me were probably Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy over in the France pavilion and the Three Caballeros in the Mexico pavilion.
An Ecological Education
A must do for me each year is the butterfly house. I could spend all day in here watching all the colorful fluttering wings circle around me. It’s also a great way to find out how to plant butterfly friendly gardens, and I have used the information in selecting plants for my own yard.
In addition to gardening tips, Epcot sprinkles in other ecological information throughout this festival. I would highly recommend checking out the penguin sculpture near the Land and Sea pavilions. This work of art was made entirely out of debris that washed ashore. It’s not only a promotion for Disney’s new penguin documentary, but a creative way to draw attention to ecological awareness.
Veg Out
I think this festival offers up the most delicious festival foods for vegetarians. This year also had an all vegan booth, Trowel and Trellis, sponsored by IMPOSSIBLE foods. I absolutely loved the vegan meatball sandwich, and wish it was a bigger portion. It had a spicy flavor that kind of reminded me of a vegetarian gyro. The street corn was good too, but I still like the Animal Kingdom curry corn best. I pretty much inhaled the roasted beet salad at the Flavor Full booth and the roasted cauliflower at the Honey Bee-stro booth. I always enjoy trying new hard ciders too.
Growing Creativity
The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is a great place to find creative inspiration. On one of the days I was there, Epcot was doing a rain barrel project with Barrels by the Bay. Guests were able to participate in painting these barrels using stencils. It’s a fun and creative project I could easily do over a weekend.
The China pavilion was a fountain of creativity this year too. I loved watching cotton candy get shaped into pastel flowers at the Lotus booth and the Chinese zodiac signs made out of seeds were pretty unique. I only wish I could create either of these at home.
