Disneyland Windows > Morgan "Bill" Evans
Location: Opera House, Town Square - Main Street USA, Disneyland.
In 1952, Walt Disney hired Morgan "Bill" Evans to landscape the gardens around the Disney home and Walt's backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Walt had met Bill years earlier, at the family owned Evans-Reeves Landscaping & Nursery - known for its rare and exotic plants. Impressed with Evans' knowledge and skills, Disney asked Bill and Jack, Bill's brother, to landscape Disneyland.
During Disneyland's construction, Evans transformed the acres of oranges groves into jungles, flower gardens and forests - using whatever plants suited an area's theme. When money ran short, Evans assigned Latin names to smaller common plants and weeds, making the plants seem more exotic. After Disneyland opened in 1955, Evans remained as a landscape and maintenance consultant and quickly became Disney's Director of Landscape Architecture - planning for Disneyland, Walt Disney World and EPCOT Center. Evans retired in 1975, but the Disney Company called on his expertise to consult on landscaping for Tokyo Disneyland, The Polynesian Resort, Discovery Island, Typhoon Lagoon, Disney-MGM Studios, and expansions to the Disney Parks in Florida. His knowledge of rare plants was sought when selecting the flora for Disneyland Paris & Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Morgan "Bill" Evans, the green thumbed Imagineer, was consulting on Disney's Hong Kong project up until a few weeks before his death in Malibu, California, on August 16, 2002.