Run for the Roses: Kentucky Derby Blooms!

After more than 140 years of high-energy races, you’re guaranteed to see at least three things at Churchill Down the first weekend in May – fanfare, fashion and lots of flowers.

The “Run for the Roses,” named after the 2 ½-foot garland of roses the winner receives, attracts thousands of guests each year. Derby Day attendees are greeted by a dazzling display of flowers and plants carefully selected by Churchill Downs’ very own horticulture department.

At the head of the pack is Matt Bizzell, director of horticulture. A lifetime gardener with 18 years at Churchill Downs, Matt and his team design everything from tulip beds to whimsical topiaries for the 147-acre racetrack. 

Okay, first things first: How did you get into horticulture?

I was a kid that was always attracted to the country and being outdoors. My mother loved to garden and saved money each winter to buy annuals in the spring for our house. She always took me to the local nursery to buy them and let me help her plant them when we got home. Also, both of my grandmothers had vegetable and ornamental gardens.

Could you give us a quick rundown of your day-to-day?

I meet with my crew each morning and discuss the day’s plans and goals. Then I usually help them get started and make sure they have what they need to work safely and efficiently. I try to visit every site where we have plants at least once a week to ensure things look good and see what work is needed or if there are any problems developing. We have such a large property and so many cultivated areas that it is difficult to evaluate everything once a week. I continue to communicate with my staff throughout the day and plan our work for tomorrow.

What are you most excited for this year?

We change up our annuals every year and always use new varieties that are on the market. It is always fun to see how the new plants do here and what our guests have to say about them. I love the South, so I am always excited about our tropical plants. We buy new ones each year and save the best ones in our greenhouse over the winter so that we have some large specimens for Derby Day. We typically do informal plantings of a mix of annuals, perennials, tropicals, grasses, trees and shrubs to give year-round interest to a facility that is always on display.

Have you faced any problems this year while planning?

No problems this year…yet.  Weather is always our biggest issue. We open the last Saturday of April and need to have most of our plantings finished at that time. In the Louisville area there is still a good chance of frost, so we have to wait until the forecast looks good and then start planting at the last minute.  This year the spring has been kind to us and we started a week earlier than normal, and when you have 20,000 plants to put in the ground by the first Saturday in May a week makes a huge difference.