My Lawn Gnomes

If only we would take a moment to stop and not only smell but really see the roses, it may be revealed that the spirits of nature are beckoning to us to pay attention. Joan Solomon offers a spectacular look through her own eyes in her book, “Spirits in the Garden.” This award winning collection of photographs is a treasure and a promise to the planet.

Throughout time, cultures have embraced the spirits of nature, calling them fairies, gnomes, sprites and leprechauns and spreading tales of magic and mischief. Taking a closer look at our natural surroundings, evidence of familiar sights can be found, perhaps even proof of the myths. Solomon finds the faces of the Iris dragon, the Yarrow flying gargoyle, and the Wild Violet gnome. In untouched photographs, she points out what is waiting to be discovered. Sharing the homeopathic herbal properties of numerous plants, the author exposes her admiration and respect for nature’s gifts. From a stomach soothing dill tea to delicious violet jelly, readers will delight in several recipes for reconnecting with nature. And that is the whole point, this need to reach out and experience the joy of our natural world.

“Spirits in the Garden” is a reminder that all life is connected and if we open our eyes and our minds, we can find delight in the simplest, exquisite blossom. After pouring over the offerings in this book you will find yourself looking closer at your own garden, the trees in the park, the flowers on your desk, and you will be inspired. To my delight, a portion of all proceeds from the work of Joan Solomon is dedicated to environmental and animal concerns. Can it get any better than that?

Spirits in the Garden
by Joan Solomon
ISBN-10: 097861660X
Review by Heather Froeschl

When confronted by a garden gnome the common reaction is to hold up your hands in horror and utter an expression of disgust while wondering how anyone can bear to allow such a creature to remain in their backyard. On the other hand we are told on good authority that the gnome population of Southern Germany is close on four million and, when you start looking, there are quite a number visible in the US.

Perhaps we should not be surprised by the Germans since gnomes were first created in their country in the early 1800’s. The earliest recorded sighting in England was in 1840 at Lamport Hall, the seat of Sir Charles Isham. It was not until 1872 that gnomes for the garden began to be manufactured in large numbers. According to German folklore gnomes were regarded as good luck charms. They were supposed to help around the house and garden and in rural areas often lived in the rafters of barns where they would keep a watchful eye on the owner’s animals as well as the crops and garden produce.

Over the years the German gnome makers honed their skills and became master craftsmen. At its peak the Griebel gnome factory in East Germany produced some 300 different gnome characters. Following the collapse of communism in 1989 entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic decided to enter the market and to produce cheap imitations of the traditional characters. Initially they were prevented from entering Germany by a law which allowed customs to confiscate those gnomes infringing companies’ copyright. However, now it is a free for all on the German border and Reinhard Griebel, the great grandson of the founder of the firm, has just one workshop and the gnome museum.

Whilst the original gnomes were depicted as gardeners engaged in the traditional rural tasks, the range was increased to include anyone from fishermen to musicians, sportsmen and farmers. It was not long before living individuals were being modelled in clay or stoneware. Among those currently available are gladiator Russell Crowe, TV gardeners Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock and even a Tony Blair wall plaque.

For gnome lovers no trip to Europe would be complete without a visit to the Gnome Reserve set in the wilds of northern Devon in England. There you will find over one thousand gnomes and pixies in the four acre reserve. Gnome hats are loaned free of charge together with fishing rods, so you don’t embarrass the gnomes!

There are some who view the cheerful little character sitting in your yard in a different light. FreeTheGnomes.com provides Garden Gnome Liberation information and calls to action. They proclaim that “Thousands of Gnomes are enslaved in Gardens across America. For too long we have let our neighbors usurp the rights of these gentle woodland creatures. Join our boycott. Organize a picket demonstration. Write to Congress. Free a Gnome. We’ll show you how.”

Some groups have taken the law into their own hands. In April 2000 in Paris the dormant Garden Gnome Liberation Front sprang back to life, stealing about 20 gnomes during a nighttime raid on a Paris exhibition. “We demand … that garden gnomes are no longer ridiculed and that they be released into their natural habitat,” the Front’s Paris wing said in a statement following its weekend strike.

Disappearing gnomes have caused headaches for police forces worldwide. In May 2004 The Scotsman reported that a spate of bizarre thefts had left Lothians police with several unusual prisoners - 14 garden gnomes. An elderly woman complained to police that someone was stealing gnomes from her yard in Fairfax County, Washington D.C. Officers set up a spy-cam and caught their suspect in the act four times. Police revealed that their bad guy was really a not-so-bad Labrador retriever named Magnum. The dog had been retrieving the figurines and bringing them home. In Australia, garden gnomes started disappearing from one particular neighbourhood on a large scale. They were found in a clearing in the bush months later, where they were all gathered around the largest gnome, having a meeting.

If you have not yet succumbed to the temptation to acquire one of these cheerful little creatures, let me leave you with one final thought. A study carried out in England in 2003 into matters to be considered when selling your home found that having a gnome in your front garden reduced the value of your house by $840.

Hugh Harris-Evans

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You either love garden gnomes or you hate them. In the realm of the garden gnome there are no shades of grey. This is meant literally as well as figuratively, as gnomes come in a variety of bright colours. They have faded in and out of vogue since their creation in 1800 and are currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Thanks to the modern trend that embraces everything retro, the status of garden gnomes has been elevated to that of pop-culture icons.

Traditionally gnomes are male, with pointed red hats, tan trousers, and green shirts. But, even though we’ve embraced the retro garden ornament, we’re no longer satisfied with such a limited range. Variety is everything in today’s consumer-driven market, so we now have gnomes in plaid, polka dots, bikinis and with faces resembling famous personalities.

To maintain the whimsical theme of gnomes, acquiring one is referred to as adopting rather than purchasing. According to folklore, the adoption of a gnome or garden keeper will bring you a good harvest, or luck where you need it most. But they can also be mischievous little imps, playing pranks and sabotaging your attempts at creating a beautiful garden.

Whatever character you believe your garden gnome to have, either tender and caring or playful and prankish, they seem to have an inherent wanderlust. They are often “liberated”, or gnome-knapped and taken as companions on holidays and adventures. In an increasing trend, gnome-knappers take photographs of the gnomes in exotic surroundings and send them back to the original owners.

For those with a taste for kitsch, or who have a naughty sense of humour, there are gnomes available that stray significantly from the template of the originals. The Bubble-”Blowing” Gnome demonstrates his prowess by lowering his dipstick into a bubble solution and then expelling air from his exposed … well, suffice to say that if it were human, you wouldn’t want to light a match.

The Squatting Gnome has his trousers around his ankles and is caught in a moment of evacuation usually undertaken in privacy and behind closed doors. Gnomes of a less exhibitionistic mien, ride on one another’s shoulders, the stout rider evidently burying his compatriot in the grass with his weight. Flasher Gnomes are also available, but are best positioned with their backs to the general public.

Despite being such little creatures, with charming smiles and friendly faces, they are capable of inspiring morbid fear in the lives of many people. Fear of garden gnomes is known as gnomophobia, and while it’s not currently recognised by the American Psychiatric Association, it is prevalent among a growing population in society.

No one knows how long the current fascination with these little garden ornaments will last. What we can be sure of, however, is that when they do go out of fashion, it will only be for a temporary period. Meanwhile, they continue to live the good life, being furnished with their own accessories, and going on occasional holidays. Whether they bring you good luck or bad, garden gnomes appear to have a charmed existence.

Recommended sites:

http://gardenaccents.lifetips.com/cat/60710/gnomes/

http://www.prankplace.com/gnomes.htm

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Garden and Home News garden and home innovations and creations one of the leading site indexes for the latest news, trends and information regarding garden and home industries

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Greeted by a garden gnome people often grimace in horror and mutter some displeasure while thinking how anyone could anyone have one of those in their back garden. But we’re also told ( from people in the know) that there are approaching four million of them in southern Germany and if you know where to look there’s quite a few in the US aswell.

Well it doesn’t surprise me about the Germans, since the first gnomes graced us with their appearance about 160 years ago. The first logged appearance was in the UK about 1840 in Lamport Hall. According to local myths gnomes are very lucky. It is documented in the 1870’s that manufacture began on a large scale. Apparantly they are meant to help around the house and garden, and in more isolated areas were meant to guard over produce and livestock.

Eventually, the European gnome creators became experts and masters of their work. During it’s most popular period a gnome factory in Griebel, Germany produced over 300 different characters. In 1989, after the collapse of the iron curtain, savvy businessmen entered the market in the Czech Republic and started to produce cheap imitations of the original characters. At first they were stopped from entering Germany by a law customs officers confiscate those gnomes who were infringing copyright laws. Unfortunately, it is all now all quite slack on the German border. The grandson of the founder, Reinhard Griebel, now has just one workshop and the gnome museum.

The first gnomes were always characterised as gardeners carrying out daily country tasks, but this grew to fishermen, sportsmen, musicians and many more. Then they started to model ones from people still living out of clay or stoneware.

In North Devon, in the southwest of England, there is a gnome reserve. There are over one thousand pixies and gnomes in the four acre reserve. Gnome fishing equipment and hats are given out so the gnomes feel at ease.

They are others that have a very different opinion about them. FreeTheGnomes.com provides Garden Gnome Liberation information and urges people to take action. They proclaim that “ Thousands of gnomes are enslaved across America. For too long we have let are neighbours usurp the rights of these gentle woodland creatures. Join the boycott. Organise a picket demonstration. Write to congress. Free a gnome. We’ll show you how.”

Some groups have even crossed to the wrong side of the law. In April 2000 the Garden Gnome Liberation Front in a nighttime raid on a Paris convention stole 20 gnomes.

By the way, if you’re thinking of selling your home, a study made in 2003 concluded that a gnome in your front garden would lower the price of your house by about £400.

For more info: A house is not a home without a gnome.

Jan Money is the owner of GardeningSupply.info and is from Poole in Dorset in the UK and has been writing gardening articles since 2005.

Gardening Supply Info - Providing information and resources about gardening and gardening supplies.

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Kitsch is defined by several dictionaries as relating to poor quality or gaudy art objects that appeal to “low-brow” taste. But in the garden, kitsch categorizes folksy or commercial art that’s viewed condescendingly by some, and with irony by others. It’s this irony (this stuff is so bad it’s good) that has made items such as pink flamingos and garden gnomes more widely popular in recent years.

Garden gnomes have long been popular in Europe, especially in the middle European countries of Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. In fact, the city of Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic has declared 2004 to be the Year of the Gnome.

Worldwide popularity of these dwarvish creatures was given a boost after the release of the French film Amelie in 2001. The title character in that movie, frustrated by her father’s refusal to travel in his retirement, abducts his garden gnome and sends it around the world with a flight attendant friend.

But from where did these garden creatures spring? The word “gnome” comes from the same root word as the verb “to know.”

It is thought that gnomes were named by Paracelsus, a 16th century physician and alchemist. Paracelsus authored a theory of the elements that included the belief that gnomes had occult knowledge of the earth.

From that theory sprang folklore tales that established a mythical society for gnomes. People said that gnomes expressed greetings, farewells and goodnights by rubbing noses. They developed stories that the creatures lived to 400 years, with the male gnomes greying very early in life and indulging in pipe-smoking.

Gnomes were divided by folklore into different types, with the house gnome and the garden gnome being the most represented. People believed that gnomes were a good luck charm, a symbol that the forces of nature were on their side. In parts of Europe, statues of garden gnomes have been, and still are, considered status symbols of success.

So much have gnomes captured the popular imagination, that in July 2003 Australia saw “Take your garden gnome to work” day, and recently the BBC urged listeners to hunt out “gnome-infested” gardens in central England. Although tongue-in-cheek, the BBC’s disclaimer to take no risks because they “believe (gnomes) are still a potential source of harm” carries on the folklore legends.

In addition, several gnome “liberation” groups profess to free the statues from enslavement in gardens across America and Europe.

According to legend, house and garden gnomes help with chores around the home, like sweeping the floor or planting. This is the reason many statues of gnomes hold hammers, axes or shovels, or are pushing wheelbarrows.

Many contemporary statues depict gnomes sunbathing, swinging and otherwise relaxing. Several modern artists have specialized in creating statues and painting of gnomes, and many people are avid collectors. Others have opted out of the gnome movement, based on the gnomes’ legendary association to spirits and the occult.

Will there be a gnome in your garden?

About The Author

Debbie Rodgers owns and operates Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living spaces that nurture and enrich them. Visit her on the web at http://www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on “Eight easy ways to create privacy in your outdoor space”. Mail to debbie@paradiseporch.com

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Garden gnomes have inspired an enthusiastic and devoted cult following, both in the real world and in cyberspace. Perhaps nowhere is the garden gnome’s cult status more apparent than in North Devon, England at The Gnome Reserve and Wildflower Garden.

This unique attraction is fun for everyone, with a reserve where garden gnomes can run free, a wildflower meadow, a stream and pond and woodlands. The natural beauty of the English countryside can only be enhanced in one way, gnomes! This unique park does it best, with over 1,000 gentle gnomes in residence. Non-conformists are discouraged, so tall, pointy hats and fishing poles are handed out to visitors so they’ll feel more at home with the gnomes.

Special exhibits walk the visitor through the manufacture and painting of gnomes, and a gnome museum documents the history of this fascinating race. It is rumored that at night, the small army of gnomes on site plants and tends the wildflower reserve and fishes in the pond.

While the Gnome Reserve is perhaps the largest gnome home in the world, garden gnomes are celebrated elsewhere as well, especially on the web. A very cute site called nigelthegnome.com chronicles a Florida gnome’s travels across the United States in pictures. Websites selling garden gnomes abound, most selling traditional gnomes and others selling specialty gnomes.

One of the most interesting gnome websites is a storefront that sells garden gnomes who look suspiciously like George W. Bush! We aren’t sure if they’re illegitimate offspring or relatives, but the resemblance is uncanny. See for yourself at www.bushgnome.com. Another gnome place in cyberspace is thenaughtygnome.com, a specialty site that features gnomes with a special appreciation for the moon.

Of course, gnome sites also espouse political causes. A multinational movement, called freethegnomes.com in the United States sponsors a site filled with information about the garden gnome liberation movement. These militant gnome nationalists support life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for gnomes everywhere. Information about gnomes who have made it to a new life free from oppression is available at http://www.barganews.com/gnomes.

As with any minority population, garden gnomes are not accepted and loved by everyone. There are a lot of gnome hate sites out there with a lot of really negative, hateful postings. We can only hope that someday, garden gnomes can also make their dream of a better world where they can live free from prejudice a reality. Certainly garden gnome cult following is a sign that the times, they are a’changing.

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The Garden Gnome is not just another yard figurine. It has it’s own distinguished history, culture and controversy attached to it. Before you buy a Garden Gnome for your home be sure to know all of the factors that go along with it.

For starters the history of the Garden Gnome dates back to Germany in the 1800’s. The original statues were made out of clay and were hand crafted. They then made their way to England in the mid 1800s. Around the late 1800’s to the 1900’s they made their way into America. During WWII production of these figurines came to an abrupt halt. The German factories were commandeered and converted to support the war efforts. In 1960’s the gnomes picked up popularity again however, they were mass-produced using plastic. Because so many of them were produced they gained the stigma for being a tacky lawn ornament. The clay hand carved Garden Gnomes have been family heirlooms for many families. The Clay figurines are making a come back of sorts, more companies are reviving the old tradition.

Any Garden Gnome enthusiast will tell you that Garden Gnomes are wonderful creatures that are very good luck to have in your garden. They are primarily vegetarians, joyful little people who enjoy having fun and helping out with things. It is believed that having one in your garden will be helpful in the day-to-day activities that are necessary to proper garden management. It is believed that they have an excellent ability to be able to reflect on history and an even better perspective on the future.

Not all people have such a jovial perception of the Garden Gnome. There are some that disagree with the use of the Garden Gnome. They believe that to have a Garden Gnome in the home is slavery and that the Garden Gnome should be freed. There are groups that will take a Garden Gnome from a yard if they see it. Relocating it to the forest where they believe they find their freedom. A few of the groups choose to operate under the raidar, sneaking into people’s yards and stealing these figurines. There is a political group that actively lobbies for the ban of Garden Gnome slavery.

Whether you are a follower of the Garden Gnome culture or just someone who thinks they are cut enough to go in your yard these figurines have a lot of history behind them and can be a wonderful addition to your yard. Just be sure to keep them away from the gnome liberators if you would like to keep them for a long period of time.