Aliens, Mysteries and Fables Meet at the Garden

Among the quiet streets of Sidney is a point of curiosity.

The “attraction” actually started with questions of “I wonder…?” and maybe even statements related to the X-Files: the answer is “out there.”

In this case, the answer might be somewhere else but the effort to recreate or represent it is near the front door.

Sometimes there is a sense of peace in expressing the unknown. Fiction addresses what we can't explain. Likewise imagination can fill in the gap between the seen and unseen, and have fun while doing it.

There's a house in Sidney that might seem quiet and unassuming to the commuting traffic. To the casual walker and more observant, it is a gathering of everyone from “Nessy,” to skin walkers, even the little green men from outer space.

Karen Vera turned a curiosity into a constantly evolving work of public art adorning her front yard, and beyond. It is a garden overwhelmed with symbolism and direct representation of the mysterious and unknown. There are various representations of aliens, Big Foot and his cave, Area 51 and Alliance's own Car Henge as well as Devil's Tower.

“We got grey aliens there. We got the Area 51 crash site,” Vera said.

The garden traces its history to before new siding was added to the home and the bush was decorated as a flying saucer. Since then, the empty space has been gradually filled with hand-crafted flying saucers, crop circles other thematic designs.

There is even the “Mother Ship” repurposed from a hubcap.

“A lot of this is stuff I made,” she said.

Fans of television documentaries, history shows and science fiction will recognize many of the decorations.

“Just about everything here has a meaning,” she added.