Hi
I found them in a corner: two illustrious gnomes.
In British gardens, gnomes seem to me to be the slightly latter day equivalent of the current fad for decking- a kind of garden status symbol to make your garden the envy of your neighbours. They first appeared in the 1840s in England apparently.
The French typically use garden gnomes to make a political statement:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1437439.stm
Garden gnomes (any different from trolls?) were documented by Swedes back in the 1500s, and are said to have orginated in Scandanavia.
Wonder whether they've travelled as far south as Spain and Italy or are they only a northern European phenomenon? If they can be found in the Spanish or Italian garden - do they dress differently and wear sunhats instead of the long red ones?
Ophrys
1 comment:
I don't know if gnomes and trolls dress differently, but they definitely travel around the globe. They've been known to send postcards back from their adventures in Australia.
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