Kentucky Kingdom Gardens Q&A with Jason Anderson

 

Each Season and throughout the year the Horticulture Team at Kentucky Kingdom is always hard at work growing and maintaining thousands of plants, flowers, trees, grasses, and more to ensure the Park looks beautiful around every corner for their guests during every visit. The flowers throughout the Theme and Water Park guests encounter have such vibrant colors and look beautiful all season long. 

Having much appreciation for the Horticulture Team's hard work and dedication we were curious as to what all goes into getting the plants, flowers, and more ready for guests each season, so we reached out to the head of the Horticulture Department Jason Anderson to get some answers: 

 
Q: Can you tell me about your experience in horticulture and what was your inspiration and reason you joined the Kentucky Kingdom Horticulture Team, and how long have you worked with the Park? 

A: I have over 20 years experience in the horticulture field, a degree in environmental horticulture and I am a certified arborist.  I started at the park in 2013 about a year before it opened back to the public.  I actually became involved with the park because a tenant who was signing a lease with me for a rental property I owned, was Director of Operations for the to-be-opened park (Lesly Birkner).  When she signed the lease, I gave her my resume and met with Ed Hart about a month later to accept a position.  As a side note, my brother, Phil Anderson, was also human resources manager when Ed Hart ran the park the first time in the 1990s and under Six Flags.

Q: What is Kentucky Kingdom Gardens, can you give us a brief history of when it started at the Park, how has it grown, where's it heading, etc? 

A: Kentucky Kingdom Gardens is just a name I came up with to give the horticulture department a bit of identity.  KKG continues to grow and has had many opportunities for creative involvement with Herschend’s vision for the park’s present and future.

 

Q: How do you approach designing and maintaining themed landscapes within a theme park setting?

A: For design, you must realize that most who visit the park aren’t coming specifically for viewing the plants, so seasonal color should be simple and big and smack you in the face.  Planting design can be interesting because the park has been here for more than thirty years and has had many others’ vision impressed upon it.  I do definitely try to be unique but I also do my best to marry the different existing elements to prevent the place from looking too hodge-podge.

Q: What techniques do you use to ensure the plants and gardens thrive in a high-traffic environment?

 

A: We prune off damage, use hearty plant material, and sometimes we use chain barriers.  Also, if a guest or even host traffic pattern is evident, it’s sometimes more practical to amend your design to accommodate the path.

 

Q: How many plants does Kentucky Kingdom grow each Season, and how long does it take you to plant them throughout the Parks?

A: Oh geez….a lot is my best and final answer.  These days we are planting and growing from about February to October.  We grow annuals starting mid-February, they are planted late April to about now (June), then we seed our pumpkins and ornamental corn, then in July we start our fall mums.

 

Q: Can you share an example of a challenging horticultural project you've worked on at Kentucky Kingdom and how you overcame it?

A: One of the challenges we deal with that you might not think about is chlorinated water.  Plants do not like chlorinated water and it can kill plants. While guests enjoy their time in the water, the splash they make can impact the surrounding plants. Think about the large splash as someone goes down Deep Water Dive!  You have to kind of learn the splash patterns – sometimes we will add rock to those areas.

 

Q: In a theme park setting, how do you ensure that plantings are both visually appealing and safe for guests?

A: Choose plant material wisely and scout areas and hot spots daily making sure trees and shrubs are pruned or limbed out of ride patterns and foot traffic areas.

 

Q: How does Kentucky Kingdom Gardens stay updated on new horticultural techniques, plant varieties, and industry trends?

A: I’m probably not too conscious about it, but I keep my head in the industry and I keep my eyes open for new things all the time.

 

Q: How do you handle pest management in a Theme Park environment, while maintaining a healthy environment for Park Guests?

A: These days, I very seldom use insecticide – I prefer to let good insects take care of bad ones and I exercise a little patience with damaged plant material.  We obviously won’t use any chemicals when guests are around and my staff and I are licensed pesticide applicators.

 

Q: Communication and teamwork are essential in a theme park environment. Can you provide examples of how you've collaborated with other departments or teams?

A: We do it quite often.  For Petal Palooza we worked with marketing, we coordinate with maintenance quite often, for Pumpkins we are all helping each other out…it’s every day really.

 

Q: How do you handle unexpected challenges, such as extreme weather events, that may affect the park's landscaping?

A: You just roll with it and be flexible….what can happen will happen.  I have a great team and we all pull together if a storm or something comes through and we have to do a lot of clean-up.

 

Q: Have you ever managed a project involving the installation or renovation of a large-scale garden or landscape at Kentucky Kingdom? If so, could you explain how you handled this project?

A: Almost every year there is something going in, coming out or changing.  We are usually a part of all of that – KY Flyer, Storm Chaser, Scream X-treme.  Sometimes an area of landscaping just needs to be revitalized.  All landscape planning for rides requires knowing the footprint and motion of the ride, queue-line requirements, desirable views of the ride – all that has to be taken into account and as I said, I try to be cognizant of the existing landscape.

 

Q: Attention to detail is crucial in maintaining the appearance of a theme park. How do you ensure that all plantings are well-maintained and presented to the highest standards?

A: I have full-time professional gardeners on staff and we split the park into zones.  Each is responsible for their zone – there are daily walks to scout for areas that need addressing.

 

Q: Kentucky Kingdom has a few new and some returning seasonal events throughout the season, how do you adapt your horticultural plans to accommodate these events?

A: I don’t know…we are still adapting lol!  The park is changing a lot (in a very good way) and I’ve learned to be flexible and dynamic in my planning – that helps a lot.

Q: Flexibility is key in a dynamic theme park environment. How do you adapt your horticultural plans and strategies to accommodate changes in park operations or guest preferences?

A: I’m so used to it by now – everything is always changing and you can count on it but at the same time you don’t want to think about it too much.

  

Q: How do you ensure that Kentucky Kingdom's landscaping aligns with the overall brand image and story of the park?

A: We just do what we do really….either I’ve developed the park or the park has developed me (likely a bit of both)…I’ve been here 11 years now and things become a bit intuitive I suppose.

 

Q: Theme park landscapes often include themed signage, sculptures, or other decorative elements. How do you integrate these features into your horticultural designs?

A: Really, I just kind of look at the color of the rides and signage and the architecture of a particular area of the park – you just work to expand on that and help convey whatever visual image.

 

Q: Theme park guests may have varying levels of horticultural knowledge. How do you engage with visitors to educate them about the plants and landscapes within the park?

A: We love answering questions and engaging with guests who are curious. We are also currently working on creating a webpage for guests to be able to scan a QR code at any plant and take them to our website to learn more about that particular plant.

 

Q: Maintenance is an ongoing task in theme park landscaping. How do you develop preventive maintenance plans to minimize downtime and keep the grounds looking pristine?

A: We do a lot in the pre/post season, especially with trees and pruning and we strategize the early morning hours before guests are in the park.

 

Q: Guest feedback is valuable for improving the park experience. How do you solicit and incorporate feedback related to the landscaping and horticultural aspects of the park?

A: We take stock in the regular park surveys and I’m all ears when a guest has something to say about the landscape because it means they are looking at it and that’s the point!

For more information, please check out the YouTube video provided below, where Jason Anderson gives everyone a behind-the-scenes look at the Kentucky Kingdom Horticulture Department: 

The Theme Park Report Team would like to send a huge Thank You to Jason Anderson and Kentucky Kingdom for taking the time to answer our questions regarding the Horticulture Department aka Kentucky Kingdom Gardens. If you would like to learn more about Kentucky Kingdom Gardens please visit the Kentucky Kingdom website:

 https://www.kentuckykingdom.com/explore-the-park/gardens/#explore