Disney Garden Gnomes
Oops. Back in the day I lowered the tone of my house gardens by allowing a group of freshly painted Disney gnomes to take up residence. Their bright red hats were clearly visible from the house patio.
Garden Gnomes
They were rescued from a cardboard box at the back of a charity shop, in a complete jumble, their clothing in a dreadful state. I must admit I prefer the retro concrete chaps, but hey! I couldn't leave this lot behind. I painted them immediately and popped them underneath the Ginkgo tree, next to some purple Heuchera, a white carpeting phlox, and a small purple ground cover (Acaena).
Garden Gnomes Mistaken for Red Tulips!
At a distance, in spring, these cheerful chaps would often get mistaken for tulips. They did cheer me up, and (for a while) were more long-lasting than the tulips in my garden were.
Abandoned Garden Gnomes
Oh dear! Oh dear, dear me. A few years later they were attacked by that fierce garden hose monster - and nobody helped them back to their feet. What a disgrace! What neglect! And then the ultimate gnome breaker - we had a rather serious earthquake. I'm sorry to say that none survived intact.