Sculptures bring surprises to Newton gardens

Posted by Richard B. Primack

“Painters are wont, in their pictures of Paradise, 

to strew the ground too thickly with flowers.” 

Henry David Thoreau, in his Journal. 

Plants are the focus of most gardens, but sculptures also add humor, drama, and welcome.

 In Newton Center, six giant colorful chickens, ranging from 3 to 8 feet tall, stand in front of a large green house. Donna Cohen, the homeowner, emphasizes, “I love chickens. They have great personalities.”

Chicken statues looking out over a front yard.

Nearby, John Overaker has created a dog-friendly garden in front of his colonial house opposite City Hall. John installed a low faucet and puppy bowl filled with water for thirsty dogs, and later added a stone water fountain for people. John even added benches for public use. 

John and Hadeley Overaker’s front yard welcomes dogs and walkers.

Motorists and walkers passing a traffic island garden in West Newton are treated to the exceptional beauty of the bronze Art Nouveau-style statue “Child with Calla Leaves”, with accompanying fountain. 

Child with Calla Leaves adorns a fountain. 

A fanciful fairy rock garden was designed for this Newton Corner home to evoke the northern Irish coast. Large upright stones represent the giant standing stones or megaliths found prominently in many areas of the United Kingdom, such as Stonehenge. 

The fairy rock garden of Laurie Halloran and Gary Bagnall.

Arrangements of flowers, urns, pots, driftwood, stones, and small animal sculptures add a fantastical flair to a Ward Street front yard. 

Fanciful arrangements of flowers, stones, ceramics and animals in a Ward Street front yard.

Such sculptures add unexpected joy and complexity to gardens. 

This a shortened version of an article that appeared in the Newton Tab.