Sandy surfboards and colorful beach balls are signals for the upcoming summer, but these seasonal staples aren’t just for the outdoors. They’re also making their way into an unlikely setting: a casino.

Yaamava’ Resort & Casino’s latest horticulturist installation, “California Dreaming,” is part of this year’s summer display. The collection of fixtures highlights the state’s iconic landmarks, such as the Golden Gtate Bridge and the Hollywood sign. It also emphasizes some of the themes associated with the season such as boats, fishing rods, and a Volkswagen bus with surfboards by its side.

“The installation is based on California’s natural beauty, from the beaches to the mountains and the cities,” said Jerry Bowlen, director of horticulture.

“California Dreaming” is part of the five different horticulture installations hosted at the casino throughout the year. Other installations include Lunar New Year, Spring, Fall/Harvest and Holiday.

“It takes us about four to five months from the time we design and get the concept to build and then install,” Bowlen said.

The casino’s summer installations are displayed for the most extended time, lasting 12 weeks and running until September. The shortest is the Holiday installation, which only runs for five weeks.

Casino guests coming in from the nearest parking garage will notice fixtures displayed on the casino’s window ledges that focus on this season’s themes. The fixtures include different surfboards made with various textures such as flower petals, sand, and stainless glass.

Bowlen said that some of the live flowers have been frozen but can last up to a year and be cultivated into the designs of the fixtures.

One of the largest displays of the installation can be seen when guests go down the escalators onto the game floors. Guests can see three-dimensional art hanging from the highest parts of the rotunda that displays surfers, seagulls, kites and sea oats.

Other sections of the casinos have different themes. The high limit room’s entrance is decorated with a fishing boat and fishing rods.

“With this one, we’re representing more of the deep sea fishing areas,” Bowlen said. “The fishing industry is big out here, so we want to make sure we represent them too.”

By the hig- limit slots, there are more 3D fixtures that Bowlen calls the “Windows of California.” The displays combine different kinds of plants placed along the ledges of mock casement windows that display a painted view with an accompanying sign of the location that inspired each piece. Some of those locations include the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur and the Sequoia National Forest.

“We created windows looking out along the different coastlines and replicated that,” Bowlen said. “We’ll put the signage up of the different locations to educate our guests at what they’re looking at.”

At the entrance of Lotus 8 Palace, one of the other high-limit rooms on the property, is a massive display of the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge at the center of the piece is surrounded by several plants, giving the display a more natural and realistic element. The room also houses an enormous panda made of black and white flowers that looks to be eating some plants.

Bowlen said that some of the challenges for his team with putting out their displays is making sure that they aren’t covering any security cameras.

“Often, when we’re hanging stuff up, we have security on the phone telling us if we’re good or need to move over a few inches,” Bowlen said. “We want to make sure we stay vigilant as a casino and are not getting in the way.”

Bowlen said that as the property has expanded, so has its footprint of where he and his team can take their décor. He said that while it does give them more room to work, it also comes with more construction.

“There’s so much building going on, and we’ll come to a spot, and then there’s construction scaffolding, so we’ll just move somewhere else,” Bowlen said.

Part of the casino’s expansion that began in in 2018 includes the property’s new hotel tower. When guests go through the hotel’s lobby, they’ll also see hot air balloon fixtures constructed with flowers hanging from its ceiling. If guests continue on the stairs leading to the gaming floor, they’ll see one of the more extensive displays made from recycled paper roles painted to look like a blue oceanic background. In front of the display are silhouettes of surfers next to their surfboards.

To the left of the hotel lobby’s main display is a smaller piece modeled after the Big Sur. To the right, it also showcases a display of the Hollywood sign with the neighboring Griffith Observatory by its side.

“You can’t be California Dreaming without Hollywood,” Bowlen said.

The Hollywood sign display will also include the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but Bowlen said this display version might feature the names of the employees of the month in place of the artists seen on the famous street.

Bowlen said that he and his team have more ideas they plan on implementing in the future, including holograms, robotics and projections to amplify their work.

“The best part is we’re 16 months into this project, and we still have so much more we’re going to bring out,” Bowlen said. “If we can think it, we can build it.”

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