Florida is… Wildflowers
(West Palm Beach Plaza, Florida Turnpike)
Florida Turnpike’s West Palm Beach plaza features Cortada’s “The Puzzled Landscape: (re)Growing Native Florida piece by piece.” Above each entrance way visitors will see 29 puzzle pieces coming together to create an image of wildflowers descending upon a Florida landscape. “Each of us has a role in helping shape Florida’s natural history,” said Cortada. “We can help reclaim nature, one yard at a time, by planting wildflower gardens to support our pollinators.” Cortada hopes his art piece will help educate individuals about the importance of Florida’s ecosystems and encourage better environmental stewardship.
Xavier Cortada, “Florida is… Wildflowers” digital art, 2015. (www.florida-is.com)
Xavier Cortada, “Florida is… Flowers | Seed bombs,” digital art, 2015
Indeed, part of the effort will involve merchandizing Cortada’s work –including the sale of native wildflower seeds so that visitors can plant them at home and be a piece of the puzzle in solving our need to bring nature back to Florida’s developed areas. Wildflowers, with help of their pollinators, help make Earth verdant: Plant life sustains all animals (including humans) and balance atmospheric gases (that accelerate global climate change). Wildflowers would naturally continue to blanket our planet were it not for the displacement caused by the concrete we’ve poured ‐‐ and the parcels we’ve platted ‐‐ to build our homes and grow our society. Help reverse the trend: Show us your wild side. Plant wildflowers in your yard.
