I heard a great piece of news this week – garden gnomes are no longer banned from the Chelsea Flower Show.
The ban on gnomes had been in place at the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society event for its entire 100-year history.
But little chaps with their pointed hats and fishing rods have been allowed in this year to celebrate the show’s 100th anniversary.
Unfortunately, the BBC reported that the hand of friendship has only been extended temporarily towards the cheeky little colourful garden characters. The ban is due to be back in place again next year.
But what have these harmless stone figures done to deserve this treatment? Apparently they were just deemed “too tacky” for the upmarket Chelsea Flower Show.
Ann Atkin, who runs the Gnome Reserve in Devon, told The Guardian: “I’m sure that quite a lot of visitors who go to Chelsea do have gnomes in their gardens and the fact they don’t show them casts a little shadow over it.”
The best part about this story was in The Mirror. A reporter from the newspaper, known as the Gnome Affairs Correspondent, dressed as a garden gnome and headed off to the show. One bystander described him as the scariest gnome she had ever seen.
Another good thing to come out of this ban being lifted is that 100 gnomes have been painted by famous people to be auctioned off for charity. Artists include Elton John and Dame Judi Dench.
Come on RHS, give the gnomes a break. Let these brightly painted little bearded men stay and cast a ray on sunshine on all our lives.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2013/may/20/gnomes-chelsea-flower-show
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/chelsea-flower-show-pictures-mirror-1903356
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22594835