Kim Haworth and horticulturist Doug Hearne tour the German exhibition's miniature railway system: - The tiny Bavarian town is decorated for the Flower Festival -- in fact, the exhibit's staff carries on a friendly decorating competition with the staff of the full-size exhibits (figure A)!
- The miniature farms and forests feature real plants substituting for their larger relatives: chives for cornstalks; sweet plums for rows of seedlings; dwarf Alberta spruce and Italian and blue pyramid cypress for towering evergreen trees (figure B).
- The train passes through a tunnel that runs under a sidewalk -- a great vantage point for visitors (figure C) -- and over an ancient stone bridge (figure D)
- Hearne explains how he creates a tiny tree: He starts with a small-leafed shrub such as a boxwood, choosing a section that has a center leader or trunk. He prunes the longer shoots and shapes the foliage to mimic a full-size tree (figure E).
- The landscape is populated by miniature people, buildings -- even terra-cotta flowerpots (figure F)!
- The train, which was made in Germany, can run indoor and outdoors, thanks to an 18-volt dc system that is powered through the tracks (so there's no risk of electrical shock through the metal tracks).
Note: For a tour of Disney's Epcot Center map, click here , available using  .
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REAL AUDIO
