It's wonderful having dinosaurs in the neighborhood. The golden beasts are just a block away from our house. They're perched on roadside rods so you can get a better look. The dinos have been a garden feature, at the corner of Hibiscus and Poinciana, for years.
On a walk last month I got the story. I noticed a woman exiting the house behind them. I introduced myself and told her how I'd long admired her reptiles. "Katrina" told me, "They were my husband's idea. When Hurricane Andrew blew through 25 years ago our yard was a rotting mess for weeks. Sid decided to make the best of it by decorating with these spray-painted creatures. We found them in a trash pile".
Sid and Nancy moved here 28 years ago because it reminded them of home, Papua, New Guinea. Katrina went on to say that along with admiring neighbors, tourist buses often stop.
The roadside garden has been going through tough times this year. It was dug up and tossed aside when a new sewage tank went in. Slowly it is growing back. Perched dinosaurs are overseeing the project.
Inspired by my conversation with Katrina, I created my own dino garden at the school where I teach. Kids love them.
I do my best to protect the South Grove creatures. Ten years ago I rounded Dino Corner to catch a plaid-skirted girl
stealing one. "Put It back!", I yelled.
While our children are grown, they still have fond memories of stopping to visit Sid and Katrina's fantasy garden. The couple call their creation "Found Material Farm". It's great that they found a way to add another unique landmark to Coconut Grove.
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