I love a good outdoor animal sculpture. Abstract art is fine but I’m a sucker for a giant critter gracing a fence or sproinging up from the shrubbery. They’re great for adding drama or whimsy, some sparkle or pattern, maybe even movement to a corner of the garden. And they can also give you a hint about the gardener. A 3-foot-high glistening stainless steel butterfly might indicate that this is the home of someone who loves a touch of glamour. A bigger-than-your-head rusted metal spider (complete with metal web) might suggest a gardener who loves the element of surprise. I have to admit that the over-20-foot-tall stainless steel praying mantis I discovered in a private garden years ago remains a mystery to me but it proves the point, I think. Animal sculptures are deeply personal statements but they all express a love of nature.

Here are 8 more great examples I’ve discovered over the last few years:

MOSS BEES: These mossy bugs are buzzing about a building in Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island.

BRONZE HORSE: I love how this horse sculpture (in a garden in metro Toronto) looks like it’s really enjoying a romp through the shrubbery.

WOODEN MOOSE: This almost-life-size moose looks right at home in the woodland garden of a cottager near Port Carling, Ontario.

METAL STAG HEAD: This is most definitely only a part of an animal but it’s striking just the same. It has pride of place on the facade of a large garden shed at a home near Woodbridge, Ontario.

STEEL DRAGONFLIES: The wingspans of these gorgeous insects are wider than my out-stretched arms. They grace the community garden in the small town of Cedar Key, Florida.

METAL DRAGONFLY: These beasties are definitely popular subjects for garden decor and I can totally appreciate why. They are elegant creatures, common to gardens (at least in this part of the world) and good news if you’re bothered by mosquitoes. This guy (above) is about a yard wide from wing tip to wing tip.

MOLDED BEAR: This bear cub is practically life-size. His home is in a garden near Mallorytown, Ontario. I don’t know if he/she is made of resin or concrete or some other material but its lovely textured ‘fur’ in life-like matte black really had me fooled for a second.

STONE EAGLE: This guy is huge–at least 10 or 12 feet high. I took this photo from quite a distance as he stands in the middle of a large field surrounded by a fence on a private estate north of Toronto. He’s made of stone and wood. Although my initial reaction to him was ‘Why?’, I realize now that animal sculptures don’t need a rationale. They’re a wonderful celebration of nature in whatever way you see them. And they’re a great way to let your freak flag fly.