Imagine, if you will, spending weeks and months getting your garden to look absolutely beautiful and then having as many as 25,000 people per day, seven days per week, in the garden almost loving it to death.
This is the challenge that Brent Buhler, manager of landscaping and horticulture at Lagoon, faces each season.
While he admits that most people who visit the amusement park might not notice all of the work that he and his crews do, they all benefit from the environment that they create.
Buhler is no stranger to horticulture. He is the newly installed president of the Utah Nursery and Landscape Association, and he has a long history with Lagoon. His mother was an accountant at the park for 33 years, and as a toddler, he accompanied her to work.
His grandfather worked a second job as the roller coaster brakeman during the Depression. His dad was a bouncer for the concerts.
Buhler started working at Lagoon when he was 12, and at the age of 15 he transferred to the landscape department. After working numerous other jobs, he came back in 1992, eventually assuming his present position.
Creating a garden and amusement park has challenges.
"Providing an enjoyable environment where people are so accessible to the gardens seven days a week is difficult. Getting everything planted and getting it to survive in that environment is difficult," Buhler said.
"I do something every day to make the park look better. For example, this year we planted more than 5,000 perennials. I am really into daylilies and have more than 200 different kinds in my personal collection."
"The sheer number of people and how they use Lagoon is astounding. Over Labor Day weekend we had a classic car show with many beautiful vehicles parked on the lawn. When they are here, we can't water, so that makes it difficult. The same is true when the cloggers come in the spring.
"I know that I am successful when people come and have a good time. In many ways, it is subconscious, because we help create the atmosphere. The wonderful shade we have here makes it more enjoyable to be here. The flowers, the shrubs, the lawns and everything else we do is so that people can enjoy their time here and conditions are not so harsh."
Because of the difficulties of growing trees with asphalt around them, as well as all the other problems caused when people inadvertently damage flowers and shrubs, I asked Buhler for some of his favorite plant materials that perform well for him.
"Among my favorite plants are the ornamental grasses," he said. "I love those. They are easy to grow and withstand the conditions here.
"The flowers we get the most comments on are the perennial hibiscus. We grow Lord Baltimore, Southern Belle and several other varieties. They get 3 feet tall and are covered with large, dinner-plate size blossoms," he said.
Buhler likes to plant snapdragons and dahlias, flowering tobacco, annual verbena, sweet potato vine, Supertunias and Calibricoa.
He uses a lot of the colored amaranths, such as the summer poinsettias and Joseph's coat, to give stunning color to the designs.
In shade areas, he has more challenges.
"We have a hard time getting enough variety in these areas, so we use a lot of impatience and coleus, and for perennials we use a lot of hostas.
"Some of the shrubs that work well for us include the Shasta or double file viburnum. We also use a lot of English laurel, including the Otto Luykens."
Another plant he uses in the park's narrow planters is the tall hedge, Fineline. He also likes the shrub hibiscus or Rose of Sharon for the flowers in the summer and burning bush for fall color.
"Because we try and theme the landscape around each ride, we also use a lot of low-growing spruces, dwarf mugho pines, and both the spreading and upright yews," he said.
"Trees are also an important part of creating the different themes for our rides. I really love weeping trees, and we use a lot of them. We plant weeping Serbian spruces, weeping beeches and weeping Norway spruces. The weeping Deodora cedar is another favorite tree that we plant extensively."
In addition, the park features a lot of Japanese maples.
"We have more than 20 different varieties of those," Buhler said. "Flowering cherries are popular, and we have Mount Fuji, Akebono, Kwansan and several others."
Many other trees dot the Lagoon landscape. Zelkova is a favorite because the vase shape makes it narrow at the bottom and spreads to a wider canopy at the top. Large London plane trees dot the landscape, and Buhler even has some large historical trees that he carefully protects.
Try some of these plants for tough, reliable planting, and use the others for some showy color.
And the next time you visit the park, take some time to enjoy the great trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials along with the rides and entertainment.
Larry A. Sagers is a horticulture specialist for the Utah State University Extension Service at Thanksgiving Point.