By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

This statue of St. Francis, seen in a recent advertisement for the Southwest Gardener caught my eye. I think it's the expression on the saintly friar's face.  It's the kind of forbearance you might expect from a man who has a bird sitting comfortably on his head that he doesn't plan to disturb.  You know what that bird is going to do eventually, don't you?

The statue tickled me at any rate, and apparently I'm not the only one.  It's one of the most popular pieces at the Phoenix, Arizona garden art specialty store, according to co-owner Amy Carlile.  The statue is cast in stone resin, is 25 inches tall, and weighs 12 pounds. Southwest Gardener will ship.  "Half of our sales of this piece are out of state," says Amy.

Because the statue is small most gardeners set it on top of a raised pot and put it in the middle of their flower beds, she says.  "With the statue's array of colors, it looks good with almost any color scheme."