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Garden gnomes!

(16 Posts)
Luckygirl Sat 15-Oct-16 12:24:56

I have just been looking these up on ebay - and you can get some amazing ones! - saucy might best describe them!

We are being very silly and turning a large gravel area on our decking with a fountain in the middle into a solar powered fairy garden. We already have little coloured solar lights all over it that come on when it gets dark; and we have on order a fairy house whose windows glow, 3 little gnomes whose hats light up, and 3 little fairies with lights.

I know, I know, totally tasteless, but I know that our smallest GC will be enchanted with it as it lights up at night - it will be dark about 4.30 soon, so they will get the benefit of it.

I remember when I was small there was something similar near where my grandmother lived and I can remember every detail still and just loved it!

ninathenana Sat 15-Oct-16 12:33:17

It takes all sorts Luckygirl
gringrin

millymouge Sat 15-Oct-16 12:39:41

Mmmmmmm to each his own

Wobblybits Sat 15-Oct-16 12:48:28

We (not my choice) have a fairy garden, with fairies and a fairy door in our apple tree. I do however like traditional gnomes, not plastic ones, and I love the cheeky ones, but guess who says no.

Jalima Sat 15-Oct-16 13:18:33

We visit somewhere not far away where the fairies live - there are little doors in tree trunks. DGD2 still believes .....

Luckygirl Sat 15-Oct-16 13:22:05

It is not really our sort of thing either but I know that the GC will just love it! - the area of gravel round the fountain is large and pointless - I just thought it would be nice to give it some role!

I bet your GC love it wobblybits!

Luckygirl Sat 15-Oct-16 13:23:24

PS If I had my way we would ditch the whole fountain lark, get rid of the gravel and replace with decking - but OH loves the fountain, as do the GC. I am just bowing to the inevitable and ,making it purposeful.

KatyK Sat 15-Oct-16 13:25:15

I have a couple of gnomes - just for a laugh/talking point really. A friend made and painted one for me, it would have been rude to refuse! Asda sell some giant ones - male and female. I was looking at them one day and DH said 'don't even think about it' grin

Nanamaz Sat 15-Oct-16 13:41:25

Many years ago my MIL used to buy plain gnomes for FIL to paint when he was housebound. Eventually there were about a dozen, placed in various positions around the front garden. MIL used to chat to passing young schoolchildren about the gnomes. One morning MIL was very upset to find that all the gnomes had disappeared. She was resigned to the fact that all FIL's efforts were gone. However, the next day a neighbour knocked, in fits of laughter - she'd found the gnomes, all lined up at a bus stop in the next road!

Luckygirl Sat 15-Oct-16 13:50:38

Love it ! grin

Greyduster Sat 15-Oct-16 14:16:57

We had a water feature at the bottom of our last garden. It was a series of copper leaves that the water ran over. I thought it was very restful, and GS loved it when he was little, but he was overfond of feeding pea gravel down the tube that the water came up, which wasn't helpful. He would also make a great game out of placing various sizes and shapes of pebbles on the leaves and watching the water run over them which tended to overbalance the whole thing. One day he decided to be really helpful, as he had heard DH say the sump could do with cleaning out. He got a bottle of washing up liquid and squirted it over the leaves, which produced a foam fountain of epic proportions and ruined the pump. DH wasn't entirely unhappy as he thought the whole thing was a colossal waste of space and more trouble than it was worth, but me.... sad.

Luckygirl Sat 15-Oct-16 14:39:30

Our water feature has a sort of copper plant in the middle about 2.5 feet high with 4 or 5 large leaves. Underneath is a large grid (about 7 feet by 3 feet) under which is a reservoir for the water. The grid is covered in stones of varying sizes. The whole thing is in the middle of some decking. Slightly weird if you ask me but OH and GC just love it. We have to try and stop the children walking on the stones because I do not think the grating is intended for weight-bearing!

However, there it is! - so it is about to become a fairy garden - anything is better than it as it is!

I will remember not to mention the possibility that it might need cleaning!!

thatbags Sat 15-Oct-16 14:44:04

I must remind DD2 of her promise to acquire for my allotment the most kitsch garden gnome ever. I no longer have an allotment but I'm sure I could find a spot for a gnome on the boggy brae.

Greyduster Sat 15-Oct-16 15:14:52

Well, not in front of the little ones anyway, luckygirl. I only have one gnome - he's more of a Leprechaun really. He is called Shamus and he looks like Prince Charles. I love him (Shamus, not Prince Charles!).

rosesarered Sat 15-Oct-16 15:24:06

go for it * Luckygirl* the DGC will love it.When they grow out of it you can just have the fountain surrounded by some pots with all different Hostas in, we know some people who have that, and looks really calm and zen like.
Love our own water feature, a cascade of large Roman pots,in a courtyard area and in Summer on a hot day, it feels cool and lovely.

Wobblybits Sat 15-Oct-16 16:15:29

Out neighbour had a plastic gnome that lit up at night with changing colours, awful looking thing, there was only one thing to do --- I gnome napped it and put it up for ransom. pay up or the gnome loses his fishing rod !