Sandusky, Ohio held the stop of our trip that was the most unique. The last thing thousands of people think of when stopping at one of the best amusement parks in the world is the way it is landscaped. However, if the park wasn't landscaped the experience wouldn't be the same. At Cedar Point you could take away the Magnum or Mean Streak and you would still have one of the best amusement parks in the world. If you took away the job the landscape crew there does the place would look run-down, and visitors wouldn't have nearly as much fun. That is the most important job that the landscaping crew at Cedar Point has. To enhance the enjoyment of every person who walks through the gates. By doing that they are an important part of the success of Cedar Point.
Mr. Tom Roberts was our host through the deserted park on the final day of our tour of some of Ohio's horticulture organizations. Mr. Roberts is a graduate of The Ohio State University, and is the head of the landscaping department at Cedar Point. His crew of mostly part-time workers are continually watering and replacing plants each day to ensure our entertainment experience is to its fullest.
The landscape includes a collection of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals that don't stand out alone, but do enhance the parks hardscapes of roller coasters and vendors. Simple things such as the way the trees are placed along each main street in the park to shade the visitors on the hottest days of the summer probably aren't even a thought to the happy park goers. The landscape also includes shrub designs that draw the focus off the fact that there are chain fences hanging just above them to keep people off the grass or flowerbeds. Everything is geared to draw attention away from blank spaces in the park and to put the focus right where the park wants it. Spaces such as behind park benches where normally there would just be grass, instead there is a nice floral design. The use of color also adds interest by eating areas and places that visitors go to rest.
Mr. Roberts job isn't as easy as it seems though, there are several forces working against him. First of all, there are thousands of people running through the park each year, really not caring where they are going or if their stepping of one or two flowers in the process of getting a good place in line to their favorite coaster. Therefore he has come up with a sort of defensive landscaping scheme. No not thorny honey locust but with a blend of fencing, shrubs, and use of things such as park benches. All of this costs money however, and the park wants to spend as little as possible on things that don't bring in more money. So every effort has to be made to keep costs low while keeping the park looking like a million bucks at the same time. There's also the problem of watering the park all on city water. That means that everything has to get just enough water, and things need to be water efficiently. That way no water is wasted going down a drain. When to water is also a big issue. You can't exactly water with thousands of people trying to dodge overhead sprinklers. Therefore most of the watering has to be done at night after the park is closed or early in the morning before the park opens. Pest control is probably the most difficult problem however. There is no preventive spraying at Cedar Point. Everything is done without the use of harmful chemicals that could make guests sick.
All of this leads up to an incredibly difficult job. Trying to landscape a park the size of Cedar Point with the restrictions that Mr. Roberts has is a very challenging task. However, he has managed to make the park look beautiful and made millions of visitors flock back year after year because of the atmosphere the park projects. So the next time you go to a park like Cedar Point literally take some time to stop and smell the roses. That's part of the entertainment that you are paying to experience, whether you know it or not it does have an affect on you.