When visitors to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo aim their cell phone cameras at blooms instead of baboons, Leigh Anne Lomax is thrilled.
The eye-catching flowers, trees and hanging baskets that bring color and texture to every corner of the zoo, are the handiwork of Lomax, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo horticulture and grounds manager, and her team.
"One million visitors a year see our work — that's exciting," Lomax said. "It definitely keeps us motivated to do good work." Lomax's job is figuring out how the zoo's plants, people and animals all work together.
That means overseeing plantings to beautify the grounds, feed animals and make enclosures look realistic. Lomax oversees a team of eight full-time horticulturalists, five ground crew and 10 seasonal staff, all experts in trees, native plans, seasonal color and other topics. They also water flowers using a tank truck in areas of the zoo that lack automatic irrigation.
Read more at cleveland.com