SENTINEL WATCH January 3, 2005 Issue

A garden of models

By Richard Nenneman

RECENTLY I WALKED THROUGH THE LEU Botanical Gardens, a 50-acre park in Orlando, Florida.

Among many exhibits is a home demonstration garden, where you can glimpse all the shrubs and plants that do well in mid-Florida. They provide helpful ideas for the garden you hope to create at home. The walkways are even paved with different types of stone and brick so that you can judge what might work well in your own garden, whether it's a small patio or a large open space. Some of the gardens are raised up from the ground so that you can garden without bending over too much.

As I walked along, I came across a circle of metal sculptures by Peter Otfinoski—one depicting bride and groom, another grandfather and grandson, and still another, mother and daughter. They were almost flat metal pieces and obviously caricatures—but very clever ones—of the types they represented.