Some of the best garden designs have little touches of fun and humour amongst all the seriousness and formality. In fact, there is a long tradition of having fun in gardens, and therefore including elements that give people a bit of a laugh and make them happy. Don visited a garden in Elsternwick, Victoria, that stops traffic in the street and makes children hang over the fence screaming with delight!
Courageous design
Landscape architect, Martin Davis, wanted to create a front yard that was fun and different. A few years ago, Martin and his partner, Mary-Lou Dixon, visited Las Vegas and stayed at the Flamingo Hilton. There they saw lots of tacky flamingos, both the plastic and feathered variety, and were inspired to create their own flamingo garden at home.
Martin filled his garden with approximately 31 pink flamingos arranged in rows and all facing out to the street. The flamingos stand on a carpet of purple flowering ajuga (Ajuga ‘Jungle Beauty’), bordered by arum lilies. Martin would like to install low voltage globes in the birds to make them glow, but this would be very costly due to the length of wire and number of transformers required.
One of the flamingos has been stolen, even though the birds are screwed and glued into place and they stand on posts concreted into the ground. Martin and Mary-Lou are having trouble buying a replacement for the stolen bird. They have phoned a great many stores but have been told the flamingos are no longer being imported.
Don’s challenge
If you think you have a garden that is better than Martin and Mary-Lou’s, Don would love to hear from you. Send your letter and photos to:
Mine’s Better Than Yours
PO Box 929
Willoughby NSW 2068
Note:
please do not send original photos (unless you have copies), as photos sometimes go astray. Don’t forget to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like your photos returned.
Further information
Plastic pink flamingos can be obtained via mail order from the USA:
www.flamingomania.com