TERESA Tan has a job that many girls might envy. She is paid to go shopping. But her shopping is not for clothes or shoes. As senior construction manager field operations, landscape, Shanghai Disney Resort project, her job is to purchase all the plants that will be used to beautify the site and extend Disney storytelling to the outdoors.

With 30 years of experience as a landscape specialist, the Singapore native knows a thing or two about how plants can enhance an atmosphere. She knows just what looks best where. “Plants are important everywhere,” Tan said. “Without plants, the environment looks uninviting.”

Disney places a lot of value on trees, shrubs and flowers to give their resorts that special look.

The resort has a range of evergreen and deciduous trees. Some are selected for their flowers, size and texture and some for their fall colors. Most visitors first notice Disney’s distinctive approach to horticulture as they enter the resort and stroll down the tree-lined boulevards. The greenery helps to establish a unique setting, even before a person enters the park. These touches ensure the guest is truly immersed in a special story.

Tan has a rich experience in horticulture in the region, and before coming to Shanghai, Tan worked for Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in 2005.

Comparing the two Disney projects with other projects she has worked on, Tan said the most distinguishing feature is Disney’s strong desire to “tell a story.”

“Everything is there for a reason,” she said. “There is a relationship between every plant and the buildings nearby. Together, they build a concept.”

In Tan and her team’s current role, they act as the bridge between the landscape design team and local horticulture suppliers.

The design team first creates a concept, and then Tan and her team gives suppliers a general idea of what the team needs to accomplish the look. Suppliers often have to travel to numerous nurseries around China to locate the right trees and shrubs. They take photos that Tan shows to the designers. If they are interested, they all go together to visit the nurseries.

“The suppliers are very helpful and cooperative,” she said, “and we often learn things from them that might alter design criteria.”

Tan receives dozens of tree photos every day on WeChat, the most popular Chinese instant messaging platform. “I learned to use WeChat here in Shanghai,” Tan said, with a smile. “It’s proven very convenient.”

Sometimes surprises pop up in the tree-hunting process. The designers may not be interested in the trees the suppliers initially recommend, but then an interesting-shaped tree might catch their eyes instead.

Tan has been working for the Shanghai Disney Resort for two-and-a-half years.

So far, she and her team have traveled to 10 provinces in China, looking for the right plants. Their destinations are mainly the nurseries in provinces close to Shanghai, such as Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. It’s important to get plants that will survive and thrive in the eastern coastal climate.

After finding suitable trees, Tan, her team and the suppliers move the trees to an onsite nursery managed by Shanghai Shendi Garden. A few others are held offsite at suppliers’ nurseries. There the trees are nurtured until they are ready to be transplanted into their permanent plots. The whole resort area will be filled with about 20,000 trees, most of them handpicked by Tan and her team.

Working for the landscape industry means Tan is an energetic outdoor person. She said she prefers being outdoors rather than sitting with paperwork in an office.

“I love plants,” Tan said, “They don’t talk back. And if you give them everything they need, they will grow very happily.”