[Posted 11/7/2007]

Students from Bill Miller's Herbaceous Plant Materials course spent a chilly afternoon laying the groundwork for a bulb labyrinth at the Department of Horticulture's Bluegrass Lane Research Center.  Before they arrived, Center manager Ron White ran a sod stripper over the pattern Bill laid out. The students excavated the trench where the bulbs — daffodils, tulips and muscari — will be planted soon.

Next spring, the dense bulb planting will define the labyrinth's path.  Unlike mazes, labyrinths have a single convoluted path to the center. (View larger image and trace the path to the center yourself.)  They're part of an ancient, contemplative tradition. Read much more about them at the Labyrinthos website.

See also Cornell Chronicle article.

Bill Miller lines out the labyrinth:

Ron White cuts the sod:

Bill Miller and students excavate the planting trench: