In what has to be the weirdest creative medium next to the Seed Art Pavilion at the Minnesosta State Fair, Japanese farmers have taken to making large-scale art by planting some of their fields in different strains of rice. The only problem is, in order to even see what the picture is of, you have to look at it from really high above the field.
Fortunately, this one is next to the municipal tower in Gyoda, home of the Gyoda Hasu-en, where you can see acres and acres of lotus in bloom, grown from 2500-year-old seeds.
But planting these suckers is harder than it looks. First of all, no weedy holes. I still can’t figure out how the gardeners and farmers of Japan manage to a) get everything to grow at the same rate/bloom all at once and b) how they manage to get perfect coverage without any bare spots. An easier question to answer is how they make the picture look right from the top of the tower. Like this:
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Only In Japan 