Flowerbeds, strategically planted to display geometric designs or lettering when in bloom, are nice. However, the technology exists to take this branch of the decorative arts up to the next level. How about a full colour photograph composed entirely of flowers?

Five different colours of flower would be needed: white, cyan, magenta, yellow and key. Key could be approximated with a deep purple coloured flower. A robotic seed drill (whom I shall call 'Jethro') would trundle back and forth across the bare flowerbed, controlled by GPS and selectively sowing the five varieties of seed according to a dithering algorithm.

Then sit back and wait untill springtime when the artwork would be magically revealed in all its glory.
-- 7ennyn, Jul 18 2006

Graffiti printer http://www.bikesagainstbush.com/blog/
The inspiration behind Jethro [7ennyn, Jul 18 2006]

http://www.yankeega...instant_garden.html [half, Jul 19 2006]

Some pictures "printed" onto grass http://www.artsadmi...osynthesistext.html
[fridge duck, Jul 23 2006]

This reminds me of the story about the youths who had to plant flowers alongside a motorway as community service. They worked diligently for their allotted hours.

Months later, when the flowers bloomed, it was discovered that they'd been planting the bulbs so that the flowers would spell out rude words...
-- imaginality, Jul 18 2006


To bee or not to bee?
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 19 2006


So an automated tool to create Rose Bowl floats?
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jul 19 2006


Take the wheels off Jethro (don't worry he won't feel a thing) and bolt him onto a production line above a conveyer belt to manufacture pre-sown square slabs of soil. Customers could order slabs of their favourite jpegs (or Word documents, spreadsheets etc.) over the web and plant these in their own gardens. These could be dried and stored until needed.
-- 7ennyn, Jul 19 2006


Jethro's brain should probably be well firewalled to thwart the inevitable hacking attempts by delinquent horticulturists, guerilla gardeners or juvenile offenders on community service.
-- 7ennyn, Jul 23 2006


Thanks for the link [fridge duck]. I've actually seen these grass photos exhibited a couple of times. They're pretty cool!
-- 7ennyn, Jul 23 2006


[+] Fantastic. Would work great for Mandelbrot-type arrangements and other mathematical patterns.

Or for those sponsored roundabouts you see - company logos easily 'spray-planted' using this method.
-- monojohnny, Jul 24 2006


would also work well for fungy and moulds. Makes me think of the grated cheese printer I drew up in my student days - sighs wishfully

Of course the Flower Bed Printer is most excellent and if it prints it gets this [+]
-- xenzag, Jul 24 2006


[7ennyn] - That bike link is total and utter genius.
-- wagster, Jul 24 2006



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