Why waste paint? Just use plants.

I've done a couple posts on living plant installations before, (what can I say? I'm a fan) and a new one has caught my eye! Back to Eden is an installation created by Dave MacKenzie. The project is located in Grand Rapids, and is a 1,400 square foot living painting using almost 60 varieties of 2,500 perennial, annual and edible plants. Using such plants as begonias and even strawberries and peppers to add splashes of color throughout the installation. At night the mural takes on a whole new look with the use of special lighting.

Back to Eden, in addition to being an art installation, helps purify air and water, and feeds birds and butterflies.  In urban areas, systems like this also help create green space to brighten up the usually drab and grey undertones of cities where large plots of land are mostly MIA or private residential areas that are quite the expense to own.

It took an estimated four weeks to create Back to Eden, however as you would assume the "painting" is never really completed as you have to keep refining it by removing spent flowers and keeping an eye on frost sensitive foliage during the colder months.

It's exciting to see more people getting creative with new ways of making art and products using unconventional materials. I've been seeing living plant installations on the rise over the last year and hope to continue seeing more them!

 For more information on Back to Eden click here.

~ James
Garden Media Group