Garden Gnomes

Love them or hate them, the little chaps with the red hats are sure to be spotted in gardens around the world for years to come. Something of a national obsession, there’s more to garden gnomes than just being a garden ornament.

The first mass production of gnomes took place in Germany in the 1800s. Local folklore said that gnomes helped in the garden at night when gardeners were safely tucked up in their beds. The craze for the little folk soon spread through France and across the Channel to England – the nation of garden lovers.

Gnomes are apparently real creatures that exist in their own world. Think what you will, but start delving into the magical world of the little people and it becomes rather obsessive. Many believe that gnomes have been ousted by the development of the modern world. Gnomes apparently live a comfortable, safe and happy life with no need for computers, mobile phones or TVs. Do they represent an existence we all secretly yearn for?

Garden gnomes are supposed to bring luck to the garden. Can you really attribute the success of your prize winning vegetables and healthy blooms to the little statue that sits at the bottom of your garden?

There are gnome clubs and groups of people dedicated to keeping the tradition going. Polishing, cleaning and painting their treasures is a full time hobby. Why do many of us laugh and mock? Surely this tender loving care is no different from that which we’d give other ornaments in our homes?

There are also some groups of people obsessed with the ‘release’ of garden gnomes. Their mission is to steal and free the gnomes. The press often print stories about the kidnapping of gnomes. Are these people thieves, or caring people behind a true cause?

Buying a garden gnome is not as simple as just going down to the local garden centre and selecting a figure with a red hat. There’s a gnome for every occasion; from fishing, sleeping and nude sunbathing characters to beer swilling macho gnomes. Gnomes are traditionally only about 8 inches high and always wear a pointy hat and have a beard.

There are hundreds of internet sites selling gnomes and offering gnome care and advice. Many of these sites have blogs and forums where you can chat with fellow gnome lovers.

You may well laugh and mock at the gnome lovers’ obsession with small garden ornaments. But in the pressures of today’s modern world surely there has to be some mileage in the beliefs of the simplistic and safe world that the gnomes are part of. We’ll leave you to form your own opinion ….