This article has often touched on the beauty of the zoo campus during the summer and the importance of the Park District’s Horticulture Department’s efforts that transform the zoo each spring into an oasis of greenery and color. The rain this year has helped with the watering, but it is also helping the grass to grow faster. Starting early each morning, this staff is out watering, mowing, and trimming to make sure the zoo and the community looks its best as we begin each day.

This transformation occurs each spring and will continue through the fall. Many of the annuals are planted by hand each spring after the beds have been cleaned out after the winter. These beds can be seen throughout the campus along with the hanging planters found along the pathways. While many of the annuals are adding color, a less noticed planting are the raised enrichment gardens along some of the exhibits that not only provide beauty, but also special treats for the zookeepers to use for a variety of animals.

The hanging pots and various planted beds add so much to the zoo but are just a part of it and are backed up by those large pots with tropical plants. How often do you get to see a banana tree in Minot, N.D.? Although the wind can often do a number on them, these mature plants have been cared for year-round and are stronger each year. While we get to enjoy them each year, once the weather starts cooling down, the Horticulture staff moves back in to remove them from the zoo and to their greenhouses where they will continue to maintain them over the winter months.

Along with the plantings they add, the Horticulture crew care for most of the zoo grounds throughout the campus. Maintaining the zoo is only one of their park spaces that they care for and as we keep getting the rain, these spaces continue to grow, and grow fast. This part of the department goes from park to park and makes sure all these spaces are beautifully maintained.

It is hard to imagine the zoo this time of year if we didn’t have the Horticulture staff doing their thing. It makes a difference as guests walk the paths and the zoo is so aesthetically pleasing and so well maintained. While the work of Horticulture is just one department that ensures the zoo is well maintained and an inviting experience, it is the most visible. Most of the staff are not visible to our guests, but if you do happen to come across them while they are out and about, let them know what a great job they are doing for the Roosevelt Park Zoo and the entire community.