Note: This article was originally published in May 2009. We’re currently switching to a new hosting provider, and it’s a messy process. So while we wait for the “OK, you can start posting again” note from the server migration people, we’ll be putting up a few stories you may have missed the first time around.
At the risk of accidentally sounding biblical, we regret to report that gnomes have been banished from the garden. To be a bit more specific, gnome figurines, those whimsical, pointy-hatted denizens of home gardens and front lawns, have been banished from gardens entering England’s famed Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, which took place this past weekend [note: in 2009] during a riot of mostly good weather.
The decree has actually been in place for years, but it’s only been this year that the rule was challenged and indeed, openly defied. The worst of it for Chelsea Flower Show administrators was that the offending gnome was introduced by a traitor in their own midst. Jekka McVicar, one of Britain’s leading organic growers, a member of the Royal Horticultural Society’s ruling council, and herself a 13-time Chelsea gold medalist, hid her own garden mascot, a fisherman by the name of Borage, in the foliage of her Grand Pavilion garden. Oh, the shame.
McVicar defended her gnome, claiming that “gardening can be too serious,” and that it’s important to have fun, but the RHS wouldn’t budge and said that the gnome had to be gone by the open of judging on Thursday. Borage, McVicar says, is going underground, to sow the seeds of his rebellion from below. It’s positively Miltonian.
Persona nongrata status at the old Chelsea Flower Show aside, gnomes are fascinating little creatures. We’ve dug up a little history on the popular garden accessory.
The Common Garden Gnome
Garden gnomes, believe it or not, are not the product of a 20th century lapse in good taste, as their garishly colored clothing and smiling countenances may indicate, but rather an 19th century one. In the second half of the 1800s, German sculptor and potter Phillip Griebel started a business molding ceramic into lifelike busts of animals, a fashionable home and garden decoration at the time. Inspired by the gnome myths of his home (Gräfenroda, Thuringia), he began fashioning small, pointy-hatted ceramic gnomes for gardens; the first gnome went to market in Leipzig in 1884 and was an instant success.
Production was halted during World War II, and following the fall of the Nazis, garden gnomes were banned briefly as the German Democratic Republic rose to power in East Germany. Still, the gnomes managed to pull through and Griebel’s garden gnome dynasty exists even now, although in a much diminished capacity, owing to the cheap labor and even cheaper materials coming out of China and Eastern European markets.
Nowadays, garden gnomes can be found in a wide variety of attitudes and poses: Reclining on one elbow, smoking a pipe; fishing with a wee fishing rod; standing proudly, hands on hips; pushing a wheelbarrow; or holding open his robes to reveal his naughty bits.
One can also buy garden gnomes dressed as police officers, although you may want to think twice after the somewhat draconian treatment meted out to Gordon MacKillip, a Cornwall, England man who was threatened with arrest over his police gnome in 2006. According to reports, police told MacKillop, whose solar-powered gnome was dressed in police blues and accompanied by a miniature ceramic Alsatian dog, that his neighbors were complaining about the gnome. MacKillop was served with notice under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997, for “placing a garden gnome with intent to cause harassment.”
The Well-Traveled Gnome
The common garden gnome’s adorable tackiness and extreme portability has also inspired the popular prank, Gnome Roaming or Gnome-napping. The premise is simple: A neighborhood garden gnome is stolen and sent on adventures. The gnome-nappers usually photograph the gnome’s exploits along the way or send postcards to the befuddled gnome owner, before returning the gnome, often with his new photo album of vacation shots, to his garden home. Hilarity ensues.
Despite the resurgence of the prank in recent years, owing to the popularity of the 2001 film Amelie, where the heroine inspires her quiet father to travel by stealing his gnome and sending him on trips with a flight attendant friend, and the Travelocity Roaming Gnome, the prank is at least more than 20 years old. According to urban legends expert David Emry, the first documented case of gnome-napping took place in the mid-1980s, when an Australian family’s gnome was taken from their front yard. A few days later, the family received a postcard from the gnome, claiming he was vacationing in Queensland. He returned, two weeks after he went missing, sporting a wicked tan (actually a coating of brown shoe polish).
Of course, there’s a sinister side to gnome-napping: In the past few years, people have been arrested for possession of stolen gnomes, and the gnomes even have their own extremist supporters, the Front de Libération des Nains de Jardin or the Garden Gnome Liberation Front. The Front is a French group that claims to have “liberated thousands” of garden gnomes since 1997 – they generally steal the gnomes en masse and then “release” them into the wild. Sometimes more creepily, these liberators, who are typically pictured wearing terrorist/freedom fighter-style balaclavas, set the gnomes up on the steps of a church or, even weirder, hanging by their necks from a bridge. These gnomes don’t make it home.
Any good gnome stories out there? Anybody have a favorite gnome, or any strong opinions about gnomes in general?
More from mental_floss…
7 Strange Museums Preserving British History
*
10 More People Banned From Britain
*
Crazy Things The Brits Will Bet On
*
What a Bad Idea Tastes Like
Comments (20)
Comment
- subscribe /
- give a gift /
- terms of service /
- about /
- contact us /
- write for us /
- ad info /
- subscriber services /
- press /
- privacy policy /
- rss /
© 2012 Mental Floss Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mental Floss is a registered trademark owned by Felix Dennis. mentalfloss.com is a trademark owned by Felix Dennis.
Disclaimer: All submissions made to mental_floss become the property of Mental Floss Inc and may be used without further permission by the submitter and without compensation to the submitter. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not submit anything to mental_floss.
My girlfriend and I participate in our local community garden, and one of our garden figures is actually two gnomes. One appears to be buried up to his neck in mulch, and the other one is trying to pull him out.
posted by Paul on 5-27-2009 at 11:47 am
My husband will soon ply his welding skills to making my a gnome-ish Priapus for my garden.
posted by Mary Kroll on 5-27-2009 at 11:59 am
My daughter has a freakish dislike of gnomes. To prevent her from moving back home (again) I set up gnomes on my front and back porch.
posted by Ramona on 5-27-2009 at 12:41 pm
Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror!
is the best Phineas and Ferb episode EVER.
“I’m going to steal all the garden gnomes in the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA!” – Dr. Doofenschmirz. It’s on The Fast and the Phineas DVD. I recommend it!
posted by Marion on 5-27-2009 at 12:47 pm
One of the most popular collections of garden gnomes in the South (at least that I know of) is in Chattanooga, Tenn., at Rock City.
They are sprinkled throughout the park and visitors are encouraged to try to find them all.
posted by Jennifer on 5-27-2009 at 1:18 pm
My grandmother has gnome-be-gones – little metal creatures consisting of a round head with a giant mouth and bulging eyes and four limbs carrying a garden gnome above their heads. They live near the small crashed alein spaceship with the alien couple standing beside it – grumpy wife and befuddled husband who wouldn’t ask for directions.
posted by Sam on 5-27-2009 at 1:53 pm
I’ll always have a soft spot for gnomes. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from visits to my grandparents, who had three gnomes in their front yard. Something I did for them was to repaint them annually so they always looked alive and cared for.
posted by Dean on 5-27-2009 at 3:03 pm
I have no stories of gnomes, but am curious about the history of what my friends and I call “The Dressed-Up Goose” lawn ornament. you know, those geese that people can buy different outfits for and set on their lawn? how did THOSE come about?
posted by Katie on 5-27-2009 at 7:04 pm
I think I’m going to start a garden gnome picture website in the spirit of “lolcats” and the “bukkit walrus.”
posted by kevin on 5-27-2009 at 8:05 pm
If you’ve ever had your gnome stolen in Topeka, KS… it was likely me. I stole dozens of gnomes in High School (just a year or two ago) but I never took most vacationing.
I still have the first gnome I stole. I was planning on using him for an elaborate prank, but I ended up adoring him. His name is Pablo, and he comes with me everywhere. I also have a plastic pink flamingo named Petey.
The rest of the gnomes went to “gnoming.” We would take lawn ornaments, specializing in gnomes, and fill our friend’s yards with them.
It probably wasn’t the most ethical thing to do, but we were bored, and it was better than getting smashed. For the most part, I’ve left behind my gnome napping days… but last year we ambushed people’s dorms with the little fellows.
posted by Erika and Pablo on 5-27-2009 at 9:54 pm
When I lived in Germany they often sold gnomes in the garden section of the department stores there. My favorite gnome was the one lying face down on the ground with a knife in his back.
posted by Space Cowgirl on 5-28-2009 at 1:54 am
Is it just me, or is second gnome look like he’s trying to seduce someone?
I have two NY Yankees gnomes. My homeowners association technically prohibits them, but you can’t see them from the street and no one has said anything about them yet.
posted by Jim on 5-28-2009 at 11:06 am
I enjoyed reading your posts and comments about us gnomes. Luckily I am an adopted gnome and find that my life is just about as perfect as it can get. I get to travel with my Mum and Pop and also spend a great deal of time in the garden. Check out my site and I believe you’ll agree my life as a gnome is couldn’t get any better. http://www.erniesjourneys.com
posted by Ernie on 6-8-2009 at 2:15 pm
My mother had a gnome appear on her lawn. what kind of a prank is this? Hes really cute! we wonder if we should let him stay or pass him on??
posted by Jessica on 10-13-2010 at 12:17 am
Me and my 2 sisters have 2 games we play with Gnomes. Ok when we are at a family get together and want to get away (and everybody wants to get away or run or hide anywhere at a family get together…lol… so you know what I’m getting at) So whoever out of the 3 of us gets away the best and without being noticed much, or tracked down, and stays away the longest is “Queen Gnome” for the rest of the holiday or holidays spent together and get treated to free beer!! lol the second is a little like tag but tagging the gnome instead. We will buy or find a new to them gnome and hide it for the other to find and then they are “it” and they get to hide a new gnome and so on and so forth.. Oh and we ofcourse name our Gnomes and eventually put them together in our yard or gardens (which I do not have a green thumb so they live in my yard~ but i’m working on that area and hope to one day have a garden where me and my Gnome friends can play) =) Its a little childish since me being the youngest at 29, middle sister is 37 and oldest 39, but its how we show each other our strange sisterly love…
Just thought i would share that not even sure if it makes sense to you or if it applies really but we know and its fun for us…
And OK OK so I’m 30 but whatever I’m still the youngest and the best looking so its all good i guess… bwahahahahahaha
posted by Misty on 10-26-2010 at 2:42 am
@Mary Kroll
“ply his welding skills to making my a gnome-ish Priapus”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapus
what what?
posted by mossbeetle on 3-21-2011 at 9:34 pm
I’m suprised – no mention yet of the greatest gnome movie of all time! Really, Gnomeo and Juliet wasn’t all that bad. It’s “Toy Story” for lawn ornaments, with just as many jokes you have to be a little older (or at least well read) to get.
posted by Laurel on 3-22-2011 at 11:36 am
@Laurel
At the beginning, they said this article was first posted in 2009. Hence the missing mention of Gnomeo and Juliet. Thought about taking the kids to see it, looks cute!
posted by Melissa J. on 3-22-2011 at 3:00 pm
I had a Travelocity gnome that was gnome-napped back in 2006… I work in TV production so my friends were able to get my gnomey in the hands of a bunch of celebrities… http://losangelesroaminggnome.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html
posted by CBD on 3-25-2011 at 11:18 pm
Great example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeGO6tEmPyM
posted by Maria on 8-10-2011 at 4:56 pm