With spring right around the corner, nothing says smiles more than some yard flamingos. Heck, yard flamingos are fun all year around if you ask me. You know the ones, those nostalgic plastic lawn ornaments in the shape of flamingos. Yard flamingos, or some people call them lawn flamingos, are perhaps the most famous lawn ornaments in the United States although perhaps the garden gnome is giving them a run for their money these days. Both have come to be the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch.
Believe it or not, plastic pink yard flamingos were designed in 1957 by Don Featherstone while he was working for Union Products.
There is a lot of documentation and news stories with words like ‘official’ and ‘copyright’ and ‘imitation’ but blah blah blah I say. They always make me smile no matter who makes them and, whether or not, like the ‘originals’ which were sold in pairs, one is standing upright and the other has its head low to the ground, “feeding”.
There are companies that sell yard flamingos in bulk and people use them for fund raising. They will plant dozens of them on someone’s lawn and request a donation in exchange for removal of the birds.
In 2009, the city of Madison, Wisconsin Common Council designated the plastic flamingo as the city’s official bird. Yet some homeowners associations forbid the installation of plastic yard flamingos and similar lawn ornaments, and will fine offenders, based on the idea that such decorations lower the neighborhood’s real estate values. Uh, maybe. Since I did not want to test that I keep our yard flamingos in the back yard. Oh, and ours are not pink. We have theses-
And that really makes me smile.
Do you have yard flamingos where you live? What do you think of when you see them? Miami Vice? A John Waters film? Click here to leave a comment and share your opinion and experience. Would love to hear from you.
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by Don Featherstone and Tom Herzing on Amazon today.
Hey Troy, I reckon I like your Flamingoes the best mate.
As for yard flamingoes in general, I was sort of wondering if they use them in Texas or would they be prone to target practice? 😉
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So, uh, how do I say this nicely Peter? These flamingos are sort of, uh, trailer trash or red neck style. You will see them as a cliche in a trailer park or such. Sort of why I like them I guess.
Kitsch is a low-brow style of mass-produced art or design using popular or cultural icons. Kitsch generally includes unsubstantial or gaudy works or decoration, or works that are calculated to have popular appeal.
But to take it a step further is why I got the skeletons.
Target practice? Probably.
Troy S. recently posted…My experience at the Blogelina Commentathon
Really? The fact that they would be considered trailer trash never entered my mind. I liked them because they were different and would stand out.
I reckon you could put them in the front yard on Halloween though. Even those not so artistically minded as we are would like them then 😉
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I love seeing pink flamingoes! They are cheerful and add charm to any lawn.