Flamingos at the garden created by Antonio Maggiore near Omega Bridge. Photo by Paula Barclay

COMMUNITY News:

The next time you’re heading out of town over Omega Bridge, peek over the edge of the south-bound lanes to the berm below. There you will see a perfect garden oasis tucked onto the side of the embankment. There’s a bench in the shade of two trees, there are a variety of plants, fruit trees, flowers and a water catchment.

All of this is the hard work of Antonio Maggiore, owner of Ecolutions Landscaping. Maggiore, who lives at 4102 Fairway, has transformed this parched patch of ground into a garden oasis.

“I wanted this entrance to our town to be cared for and no one at the lab or the county seemed to be paying any attention to it so I decided to landscape it myself,” he said. “I’ve cut down elms and planted fruit trees and am enjoying watching it grow.”

Maggiore’s hard work came to the attention to the traveling troupe of Pink Flamingos — an impromptu home recognition campaign being conducted by Paula Barclay,  a realtor with RE/MAX of Los Alamos.

“Some people are working really hard to make our community more beautiful,”  Barclay said. “This is just a lighthearted way to recognize efforts of people like Antonio.”

If you know someone who has done work on their home’s exterior or yard, Barclay encourages them to get in touch with her (paulabarclay@remax.net).

“Nominate your friend, neighbor or yourself,” she said. “Let’s make this a fun way to say thank you to them for making our town nicer!”