MosaCanada bids adieu after successful summer

The enchanted world ofMosaCanada 150 is being dismantled bit by bit by the same team of horticulturalistsand craftspeople who meticulously assembled the organic menagerie of giant dragons, red foxes and killer whales at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau.

• MosaCanada plant sculpture show finishes with over 1.3M visitors

The outdoor exhibit featured living plants of every description 3.5 million of themcovering the towering steel framesthat gave shape to the sculptures.Now all theflowers and greeneryarebeing removed, to be compostedinGatineau'srecycling plant and at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa.

MosaCanada150, which ran from June 30 toOct.15, proved hugely popular, recording 1.3 million visits. Tourists and locals alikeflocked to the attraction as it changed with the season.

'So much pride'

"There's so much pride, so much extreme satisfaction with what has been presented." said MosaCanadaspokesperson GeneviveMnard.

"Does it feel a bit odd to see our colleagues taking down these masterpieces? Absolutely." she added.

Some of the larger sculpturesincluding The Prospectorand Red Foxeswill be stored at the headquarters of parent company Mosacultures Internationalesde Montral.Otherssuch as Saskatchewan's Royal Canadian Mounted Police Horse and Riderwill be returned to the province that sponsored the sculpture's creation.

As for Mother Earth, the immense creationthat welcomed visitors to the park, she will be stripped of her plants, but her structure will remain in place throughout the winter,perhaps to bloom again nextspring.

"Itcertainly is everyone's wish that it returns," Mnard said.