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Garden Gnomes

Giant garden gnomes have been another reason to avoid Asda this year. I didn't see anyone buying them but they were not as cheap as they looked. £20 IIRC. :eek:
 
Don't know if this was posted already, it's an old article but it's new to me and I had to share it :eek:

Before the Garden Gnome, the Ornamental Hermit: A Real Person Paid to Dress like a Druid
BY ALLISON MEIER
MARCH 18, 2014

WHILE SOME GARDENERS MIGHT NOW throw in a gnome statue among their flowers and shrubberies, back in the 18th century wealthy estate owners were hiring real people to dress as druids, grow their hair long, and not wash for years. These hired hermits would lodge in shacks, caves, and other hermitages constructed in a rustic manner in rambling gardens. It was a practice mostly found in England, although it made it up to Scotland and over to Ireland as well.
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http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-history-of-hermits-in-gardens/
 
FrKadash said:
Don't know if this was posted already, it's an old article but it's new to me and I had to share it :eek:



http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-history-of-hermits-in-gardens/
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I'd love that job! Apart from the not washing, and the not cutting fingernails bit.

Posh people also used to visit lunatic asylums, for entertainment. They liked some weird stuff in the 18thC. Went to Fountains Abbey and the adjoining Studley Royal Water Gardens this week. The posh Capability Brown 18thC landscaped garden has a couple of full on temples and a little tunnel with niches along its walls, where statuary probably once was - I'm guessing the tunnel was kind of in the spirit of 'delving into the earth'; a nod to the pagan values of the classical world. I kept thinking about the revival of druidry - Iolo Morganwg, etc, that came about in the 18thC. Somehow, druids became fashionable. I suppose in that bucolic, neo-classical 18thC way; like all the posh women suddenly wanting to dress up as shepherdesses.

As for gnomes generally, I'm guessing they are a more classical version of our older, native 'dwarves'. An earth spirit thing you keep for luck, in your garden. I've been re-painting my gnomes as they all got weathered. I pretend they're postmodern irony but really I just like them.

Hermits/hermitages were a thing in early christianity as well. I suppose it was a nod the the wodwos (wildmen of the woods) - through isolation and insanity, you somehow get closer to god/the gods, kinda thing?
 
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My sister had her garden gnome disappear years ago but ever since she has had
postcards from him from all over the world, just a note from her Gnome on a post
card from were ever, a very well traveled Gnome, this as gone on for years she as no
idea who is doing it and does not know anyone that travels so much abroad.
 
RaM said:
My sister had her garden gnome disappear years ago but ever since she has had
postcards from him from all over the world, just a note from her Gnome on a post
card from were ever, a very well traveled Gnome, this as gone on for years she as no
idea who is doing it and does not know anyone that travels so much abroad.
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Another travelling gnome!
It must be a cult thing now, it's happening such a lot.
 
I had a gnome encounter in October 2013, and I posted a couple of pics of it here:
http://forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/garden-gnomes.2646/page-6#post-1361689

I first noticed it from a passing bus, so I had to return when the afternoon sun was out to get the pics.
IIRC, in about a week it was gone, and I never heard anything more about it. (The local media didn't seem to pick up on it.)

Whoever first placed it there and removed it must have had a vehicle as it's bigger than most gnomes, perhaps up to 4' high including his pedestal, so it must weigh a bit. I don't think you'd take it on a round the world trip - it's probably too big for an overhead locker! :D
 
You raise an interesting point, Ryn, what does one say to the customs officer when taking a garden gnome on a flight? What would you say your reasons were? The round the world gnomes story has been around since... what? the 1970s at least? I know security didn't used to be as tight as it is now, but still, even carrying one on the plane as hand luggage must have set off a "nutter alert" in the minds of the officials, however benign the motives. And now they x-ray that luggage so you can't hide your gnome.
 
How heavy are these gnomes? I understand that some are made of concrete.
 
I've never picked up a gnome (so to speak) but I imagine they have some heft to them to prevent the wind from blowing them over.
 
I will hereby admit that I, and my family, have owned a few garden gnomes over the years.

Most are concrete, but you can get plastic ones; they have a hole in the base, so you can fill them up with gravel or stones or I guess you could pour concrete into them.

I can't imagine that most of the travelling gnomes are actually doing the travelling. Surely the person just sends postcards from the country? I know philatelists can have post sent from other countries, either by the relevant postal authorities, or other stamp collectors, so they get the appropriate franking.
 
Fluttermoth said:
I can't imagine that most of the travelling gnomes are actually doing the travelling. Surely the person just sends postcards from the country? I know philatelists can have post sent from other countries, either by the relevant postal authorities, or other stamp collectors, so they get the appropriate franking.
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The way the joke usually goes is that photographs of the gnome are sent from locations across the world, isn't it? Otherwise it would just be a series of "Wish you were here" cards with no connection to the kidnapped gnome.
 
My wife has a Troll that accompanies us on all our holidays and appears on photographs on the plane and on holiday. I know its not a gnome as its pocket sized.
 
Wistaston man told to remove bottom-baring gnome
18 July 2017

_96990118_db3a9a96-f090-49dc-937d-a0bead95f01d.jpg


A man has been told to remove a gnome which is baring its bottom from a patch of grass at a road junction.
Laurence Perry, 76, of Wistaston, said Cheshire East Council told him to remove the ornament within seven days.
Mr Perry, who said the gnome's bottom "lights up" at night, added: "I've not told him... I don't want to upset him."

The council said such objects "could easily" distract motorists, as first reported by the Nantwich News.
It said it had received a complaint and while the authority did "not wish to spoil people's fun", there was "a safety issue here".

The gnome, which was placed at the junction by Westfield Drive, was bought for Mr Perry for Father's Day.
He said he thought most people were "very appreciative" of the work of a group of volunteers, but "one or two people... take exception to what we do".
Green-fingered Mr Perry added: "I shall probably remove him on Friday because that's when his seven days are up.
"But I want to find him a little home on my gatepost at home, so I'm sure he'll like that."

Mr Perry said he would not fight the council's decision.
"I've been in business all my life... and you come across these things and you just let it go over your head in the end, so it doesn't upset me," he added.

Cheshire East Council said "such objects could easily cause a distraction to motorists and other road users, leading to an accident".
A spokesman added: "We received a complaint about these ornaments which, while seemingly harmless, are designed to attract attention and light up at night.
"Therefore, we have to take steps to have them removed in the interests of road safety and the safety of pedestrians."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40644575
 
rynner2 said:
Wistaston man told to remove bottom-baring gnome
18 July 2017

_96990118_db3a9a96-f090-49dc-937d-a0bead95f01d.jpg


A man has been told to remove a gnome which is baring its bottom from a patch of grass at a road junction.
Laurence Perry, 76, of Wistaston, said Cheshire East Council told him to remove the ornament within seven days.
Mr Perry, who said the gnome's bottom "lights up" at night, added: "I've not told him... I don't want to upset him."

The council said such objects "could easily" distract motorists, as first reported by the Nantwich News.
It said it had received a complaint and while the authority did "not wish to spoil people's fun", there was "a safety issue here".

The gnome, which was placed at the junction by Westfield Drive, was bought for Mr Perry for Father's Day.
He said he thought most people were "very appreciative" of the work of a group of volunteers, but "one or two people... take exception to what we do".
Green-fingered Mr Perry added: "I shall probably remove him on Friday because that's when his seven days are up.
"But I want to find him a little home on my gatepost at home, so I'm sure he'll like that."

Mr Perry said he would not fight the council's decision.
"I've been in business all my life... and you come across these things and you just let it go over your head in the end, so it doesn't upset me," he added.

Cheshire East Council said "such objects could easily cause a distraction to motorists and other road users, leading to an accident".
A spokesman added: "We received a complaint about these ornaments which, while seemingly harmless, are designed to attract attention and light up at night.
"Therefore, we have to take steps to have them removed in the interests of road safety and the safety of pedestrians."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40644575
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What an arsy council.
 
Three centuries ago, that garden gnome in your yard would have been an actual human being

Ever wonder why anyone thought it made sense to have a weird little ceramic homunculus taking up real estate in your front yard? Who came up with that, anyway? Garden gnomes are a fun part of homeownership for some, and they surface in popular culture in unexpected places with some frequency, such as the globe-trotting gnome in Amélie or (my favorite) the Gnome Chomsky garden gnome.

The trope of the hermit, on the other hand, seems a bit more distant from our concerns. I recently finished a brief trip to the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, and while I was there I had the opportunity to visit a hermitage on an extended hike (I opted to do something else). Right this minute I’m in the Austrian countryside, and I can hike for less than an hour up into the woods and encounter a hermitage there as well. The man who is currently occupying the position of local hermit is (somewhat paradoxically) quite welcoming to visitors.
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Source: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/...n_gnome_in_your_yard_would_have_been_an_actua
 
I don't know why, but I like reading stories about Garden Gnomes in the news:
'Ever Given' Suez Canal Blunder Is Causing A Garden Gnome Shortage
The Ever Given’s blockage of the Suez Canal earlier this month caused reverberating effects through the shipping industry. Gardeners in the UK are hunkering down as supply chain delays are causing a shortage of the essentials, like garden gnomes.

Even though the Ever Given is no longer blocking the Canal (though it is still sitting in the Canal while Egypt waits for its owner to pony up $1 billion) the impact of the six-day blockage is still being felt worldwide. As Business Insider reports, ships are piling up at ports worldwide that were already dealing heavy traffic even before the Ever Given fiasco. Transportation of everything from cars, to oil, to even sex toys are getting hung up.

For the UK, this means enthusiastic gardeners are going to have to make their green spaces work without a key feature. Manufacturers of the popular garden ornament just cannot keep up with demand, reports Indy100:

Ian Wylie, CEO of the Garden Centre Association described the situation.
“With goods arriving from abroad, garden centres were affected by the ship getting stuck in the canal as much as any other industry. Garden furniture, ornaments, of which gnomes would be some, being stuck in containers trying to come over here”
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UK residents find gardening to be a relaxing escape from lockdowns, reports the Guardian and this has resulted in an explosion in gnome demand.
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https://jalopnik.com/ever-given-suez-canal-blunder-is-causing-a-garden-gnome-1846698088
 
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