Activities:Labyrinth

From Bulbs

Share ideas about this page.

Build a bulb labyrinth

In this contemporary twist on an ancient tradition, you’ll use naturalized bulbs to create a contemplative pathway that emerges from lawn in spring.

This is the layout for a Classical Seven Circuit Labyrinth. You enter through the “mouth” and then walk on the paths or circuits. The flowering bulbs keep you on the path. Your goal is to reach the center of the labyrinth. But when you do, you’re only half way there. You then need to turn around and walk back out.

Objectives

Learn how to naturalize bulbs in lawn
Learn to plant bulbs in a creative pattern
Track the growth of flowering bulbs as they emerge
Foster creativity and inner critical reflection
Provide an opportunity for collaborative planning and learning

Materials

Bulb planters or trowels
Bulbs suitable for naturalizing, number to be determined by size of labyrinth
Graph paper and pencils
5 wooden stakes
Rope or twine
Baking flour, for laying out the pattern on the grass
Survey flags

Cornell flower bulb labyrinth, spring 2009.

Logistics and timing

Plant bulbs in late fall if using naturalized bulbs in most northern areas. Other timing is possible if using different plant materials in different regions. See Summer bulbs for ideas about other bulbs to use for this activity in areas where spring bulbs aren't possible.

Allow time to locate site, create plan and coordinate with community partners.

Layout of labyrinth can take one to several hours, depending on size.

Planting can take place in an afternoon, depending on number of participants and the size of labyrinth.

Background and introduction

Many people plant bulbs in “beds” – not the kind you sleep in, but in specially prepared sections of the ground that have been tilled or spaded, often with nutrients added to them. There, the bulbs emerge from bare ground.

But many bulbs can be planted right into the grass as a part of the existing landscape. This is called naturalizing. The bulbs to emerge and flower while the grass is just starting to grow in spring, and then disappear into the lawn. You can use this ability to create a labyrinth or “write” a hidden message that slowly and mysteriously surfaces in late winter or early spring, depending on your location and the type of bulb you use.

What is a labyrinth?

Simply put, a labyrinth is a winding path. It has many twists and turns, but only one opening – only one way in and the same way out. Trace with your eye the route through the classical labyrinth at the top of this page to get the idea.

A labyrinth is not a maze, and is not designed to challenge or confuse the person walking the path. Rather, it is an ancient path to meditation and peace. Walking a labyrinth is a private and quiet experience that many enjoy as a metaphor for the path we follow in life. Labyrinths are found in cultures all over the world, and date back thousands of years. But only recently have educators explored their use with young people. With the over-scheduling of our children and youth, the pressure to perform, and the fast pace kept in our society, many people are finding that constructing and using a labyrinth can foster reflection and calm.

Why engage young people in constructing a labyrinth from flower bulbs?

Labyrinths are often constructed from stones, or from larger plant materials such as herbs, flowering perennials and shrubs. Planting bulbs directly into a lawn is a faster and easier way to create one. You can organize a planting, and enjoy the labyrinth as a temporary and beautiful construction that is simply mowed after the bulbs have flowered. It is a unique, low maintenance, creative, celebratory experience of nature and ancient customs.

Studies have shown that walking a labyrinth encourages right hemisphere activity in the brain, promotes a calm focused attention span, and mentally, physically, emotionally refreshes children, youth and adults who walk the path. It connects to history, math sequencing, philosophy, and even architecture. It promotes spiritual development without focusing on “religion.” Children report that they feel less angry or frustrated, and that they gain insight for solving problems. Some children may indicate a closeness for friends and others with whom they walk the labyrinth. Walking the labyrinth can help in the grieving process.

The labyrinth can provide a unique alternative to traditional playground activity, and the process promotes planning, collaborating, and connecting to the community.

Activity

1. Getting Started

Decide what kind of bulb you will use. Ideally, a flower bulb that can be incorporated into grass is ideal. You may want something low, such as crocus, or a taller plant, such as daffodil. Consider the time of year for flowering, height, and color. The easiest choice will be a small bulb that does not need to be planted deeply.
Be sure to engage the creativity of children and youth throughout the planning process.
Meet with administrators, community members, and other key people to discuss the project, considering where the labyrinth will be planted, how it will be maintained and other details.
Seek donations or purchase bulbs from a local source.
Learn about labyrinths that may be in your area and visit them.
Consider a diversity of community partners. In addition to garden center personnel, landscapers, Cooperative Extension staff, school administrators, custodians and others who may be key to your project. You may also want to include counselors, faith-based staff and others who can assist in fostering the emotional aspects of this exciting effort. Young people may want to nominate youth leaders who can visit with these partners.
Remember that young people are steering this effort, and it’s for them. Children and youth may have ideas about adding to and building upon this project, with benches, stone, incorporating artwork nearby, etc. By beginning with a simple bulb project, there are many offshoots that can help the whole community grow.

2. Design, layout and planting

Ideally, you should locate the labyrinth in a visible area that is easily accessed, quiet, and separate from playground and athletic activity. Young people should be able to enjoy this experience without hovering adults!

Design you planting on paper first. You can plan for the approximate number of bulbs you’ll need by calculating the distance and knowing how far apart to plant the bulbs. Involve the children and youth in the calculations.

See Laying Out Labyrinths at the Labryinthos website for a useful animation of how to draw labyrinths. This resource is especially helpful since it shows how to draw a classical labyrinth, and offers suggestions about layout in the landscape. The author, Adam Warren, also covers path width, how to locate the geomantic center, marking out the square that encloses the “seed pattern,” and the use of rope and posts to mark the paths.

Closely mow the grass the day before you lay out the design. You’ll want to lay out the labyrinth before you plant. If planting is planned for an afternoon, taking the morning for lay out works well. Follow Adam Warren’s method to lay the labyrinth out. You can use an easy, non-toxic approach by sprinkling baking flour on the grass along the lines where the bulbs will be planted.

When you are ready to plant, demonstrate how to use the bulb planter to remove the sod, place the bulb, and replace with topsoil. Fan out along the lines of the labyrinth, and plant directly into the marked areas.

Take photos of the process!

3. Walking the labyrinth

As winter comes to a close, one day, a different kind of foliage will appear in the lawn. Slowly growing, it won’t be long before flower buds emerge, and then one day, the labyrinth will be in bloom. Observing, anticipating, describing, and reflecting on this process is an exciting aspect of the labyrinth walk!

A word about the walk: before walking the labyrinth, talk about the fragility of the flowers that are materializing from the soil. To prepare, children may want to line, hold hands, or otherwise take pause before entering. Depending on the appropriateness and your group, you may want to be silent, or to journal, or engage in another calming activity. You may want to agree on a ground rule of no talking while walking the path. Young people can form a circle, and move around the circle as they wait for their turn to walk.

Be sure to allow unhurried time for a large group, so that people aren’t rushed or crowded. Some suggestions for using the labyrinth include walking during free time, using during times of difficulty or conflict as a way to cool off, walking at regular times as a group.

One of the objectives of this project is to foster critical reflection and inner calm. Journalling about all aspects of the project, from planning and design, and planting, to walking the path can provide an opportunity for reflection for all engaged in this project.

4. Maintenance

Remove flowers after they fade to so that plants concentrate their energy into the bulbs, not into seeds. This will help the bulbs do better in future seasons.

You may need to mow grass within the path. But don’t mow bulb foliage until after it turns brown.

If some of the bulbs die, fill in gaps by planting more in fall.

Going further

Explore examples of other projects that have planted a labyrinths from flower bulbs on this site, on the Internet or in your area?
Share your success with the school newsletter, local newspaper, or by way of a poster prominently displayed in the community
Watch the labyrinth over time. Are there changes in the way in which the bulbs grow? Are they becoming more robust, spreading? Or thinning out? Test other bulb types that might work better on your site.
Learn more about the history and use of the labyrinth.
Reflect on how to maintain and improve the area around the labyrinth. Might benches and other enhancements improve the setting and encourage others to take advantage of the opportunity for reflection?
Consider putting something at the center of your labyrinth.
Interview children, youth and community members about their experiences with the labyrinth.
If you are in a school setting, explore other ways to incorporate this activity into the curriculum.
We are all concerned about global warming, and many people are engaged in phenology, or the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena, as a way of tracking change in the environment. You may want to record the bloom time of the bulbs from year to year, to note whether the time of bloom is changing. Project Budburst (sponsored by National Science Foundation and several universities), is an overall effort to get many people to record the dates of budburst and flowering of plants all over the US. If your group would like to participate go to www.budburst.org.
Use naturalized bulbs to spell out other hidden messages, such as school names, mascots or organizational logos.

Bright ideas from the blog

Cindy Prentice suggests having young children spell their names with short-growing bulbs. That makes the letters easier to see when the bulbs bloom.

Nursery school simplifies labyrinth, planting a serpentine path instead.

College students excavate a trench to build a classical labyrinth, instead of naturalizing bulbs.

Connecticut group plants bulb labyrinth at ag center

Cornell flower bulb labyrinth

Web resources and videos

See how-to videos on planting spring-flowering bulbs in fall and naturalizing at BulbVideos.com. See also videos linked from our Video and podcast resources page.

Growing bulbs info at this site

See 'Naturalizing' spring-flowering bulbs for more information on how to naturalize bulbs in your lawns and landscape. Also:

More info at this website

See digital 'collage' activity to create scanner art from bulb flowers harvested from your labyrinth.

See Forging community partnerships for ideas about raising money to support your labyrinth-building project.

See how a nursery school simplified this activity for a younger audience.

Interact

Share ideas about this activity and read insights from other educators on our blog.