Lush new landscaping
The sculpture will be the centerpiece around which all the Lane's new landscaping will be coordinated -- although that's no simple task, according to Beverly Aldeghi, co-chair of the Haddonfield Dinosaur Sculpture Committee and president of the Haddonfield Garden Club that maintains the Lane's gardens.

"One of our main problems is the site itself," she said. "We're limited by the width of the space but we think we will be able to change the beds to give us more flexibility. That's a downside. The upside is that this is such a perfect place for people to experience the sculpture. It's in the middle of everything here in the center of town."

The sculpture will be elevated in a rock garden-like setting with flowing water. "We would like it to be something that children can touch," said committee co-chair Jan Twitchell.

A local landscape architect has volunteered to design the garden setting in which the statue will sit and the Garden Club has even done research to identify modern-day plants that were growing in the Cretaceous era 80 million years ago when the Hadrosaurus foulkii was alive.

Plants of the Cretaceous era
"Our original idea was to make the plantings aesthetically pleasing and historically accurate, although that has presented some problems," said Twitchell. "We know ginkgo trees and tree ferns date from that period but Gingko trees aren't acceptable because their fruit gives off a terrible odor. Tree ferns are not indigenous to this area. There is also horse tail -- Equisetum -- but not much else."

As a result, she said, the landscape architect will be taking a more creative approach and using appropriate modern plants that capture the spirit of the primordial coastal area where Hadrosaurs lived.

The Lane project also involves a fair amount of engineering. Luckily, committee member Don Jackson explained, there is access to underground water pipes in the center of the lane. Pavement enhancements and repairs, as well as garden bed rebuilding, will be required throughout the space.