Art and Artists in the Garden 3: Rosemary Rizzo

Rosemary is absolutely hooked on that legendary symbol of tacky yard art - the pink flamingos. She has a collection that ranges from clothing through stained glass windows, and runs a popular Delphi Forum called Flamingo Fanny and Friends. So you might imagine that her yard is absolutely overrun with pink plastic.

Not so. At least not obviously so. She admits to owning 10 of the traditional Donald Featherstone creations here - but you almost have to look for them. It's not the bird itself that is tacky - it's the way that so many people misuse them. They could take lessons from "the Flamingo Lady."

A topiary flamingo grazes against a fence, dramatically lit at night. And by the back steps is Fred (or is it Ethel? - a copper flamingos with its body made from gazing balls - a combination that sounds like the epitome of tacky - and yet it's not. Then there is a flamingo done in stained glass, one on a brass gazing ball and a metal painted and glazed flamingo. At least she admits to those. Having gone through her photos I can see that she missed the flamingo weathervane and who knows what else.

The birds are scattered through the garden in such a way that it might make a good game - see who can find the most flamingos. They're everywhere, yet don't leap out and grab you. Instead, as you tour the yard, they keep surprising you. And that's what makes this yard so worthy of notice. It's full of fun and smile-making surprises, which is exactly what good garden art is all about. That and getting creative with the things you have at hand.

So look around, and then look up - and finally down. You'll find a whole new population of these much-maligned tropical birds right at your feet. And these have something more going for them than the larger 3-D birds tucked around the yard. Most of them have been designed and executed by Rosemary herself.

That pink flamingo stepping-stone (her first mosaic project) is the first in a series that lead you away from the back steps. But the yard art is not confined to flamingos alone. Other stepping stones portray a range of things from calla lilies to steam trains. And they are often very detailed. She just kept on working on manageable pieces until she

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