Camillus sunflower maze is a work of art

BY Jason Gabak
Editor

Driving along Route 5 it is likely people have noticed the acres and acres of sunflowers that have filled the fields adjacent to the Inn Between.

While sunflowers are a common site in the summer in Central New York, more than 80 acres of flowers are bound to be attention grabbing.

Chris Cesta, whose family owns the Inn Between said the ocean of tall yellow flowers always draws a lot of interest.

“People come from all over to visit,” Cesta said. “It is nice to see. It is something Camillus can be proud of. It is an interesting attraction.”

The fields of sunflowers and the accompanying maze are all the more interesting because they do not appear year after year.

“We’ve been doing this for about 15 years now,” Cesta said. “But we only do it once every three years.”

Cesta said the idea originated with Camillus farmer Mark Pigula and his wife Ceil.

“They started planting the sunflowers and it grew from there,” Cesta said. “They also plant them at the park at Gillie Lake. But they are very visible from here with so many people driving by on Route 5.”

The flowers, which seem to stretch on forever, garner a lot of attention, but each year there has been an effort to create something special in the flowers.

A variety of shapes and images have been incorporated into the field of flowers ranging from a honey bee to this year’s creation which is a wine bottle pouring out with the I Love New York logo incorporated as well.

Cesta said Ceil Pigula; an artist is responsible for these unique creations.

While the images can only truly be seen from above, they create something that anyone on the ground can appreciate.

The lines carved through the flowers create a maze which allows guests the opportunity to walk and explore the fields at their leisure.

“People rally like the maze,” Cesta said. “You’ll see families and kids out walking through; they really seem to enjoy that.”

While the flowers add a certain beauty to the rolling landscape around the Inn Between, there is also a practical decision involved in planting the flowers.

Cesta said the property hosts its own apiary.

The sea of flowers give the honey bees a lot to work with.

“We have the apiary at the restaurant,” Cesta said. “The bees collect the pollen and nectar so there is the added benefit of having that source of pollen and nectar right here with thousands of flowers.”

Cesta explained the flowers will also be utilized for the creation of sunflower oil.

He said while Pigula and other farmers could likely get a higher price for other crops, the sunflowers are versatile providing multiple uses from seeds to honey and oil for cooking.

Sunflowers, according to Cesta, are also better for the land taking less of a toll on the soil than other crops.

“We try to be good stewards of the land,” Cesta said. “There is a real value to growing these flowers form the oil to the honey made by the bees. We try to educate people about how important it is to be good stewards of the land and take care of what we have.”

With drought like conditions this summer, the sunflowers like many other plants have posed a challenge to farmers and growers.

Cesta said each year Pigula experiments with various strains of sunflower for growing and this year the plants have thrived despite the limited water.

“They are only about 70 to 85 percent of what they could be,” Cesta said. “But Mark experiments and he has found seed that is drought resistant so they are still doing well.”

Cesta said there is a limited window where the flowers are at their peek and he encourages anyone who hasn’t to come see the flowers and maze.

“If we get a little rain we’ll see how things go,” Pigula said. “But we usually only go for a few weeks. It is a thing of beauty.”