Turfwork!: Earth art from the air

Last month, I posted about a group of Cornell students putting together an art installation so large that it’s best viewed from the air. Thursday, one of the students, Peter Cadieux, with the help of a local pilot flew over and provided me with these aerial images. I had high expectations for their efforts. But the results came out even better than I expected, even better than the simulation they created.

The materials include different colored mulches, overturned sod, straw bales, and grass bleached yellow by covering with plastic mulch. Students from a local Montessori assembled the ribbon pinwheel in the center of the blossom.

This shot provides some perspective, with the golf fairway to the left. If you click on the image above to see the larger view, you can make out the Canada geese foraging between the straw bales.

Here’s a ground level view. If you are in the neighborhood on Mothers Day, the students will be on site to answer questions from noon to 2 p.m. More details and directions here.