We have a garden gnome OH inherited when his dad died. I'm hoping it dies of frost bite. I have birds in my garden - 4 different guineau fowl made from clay sculpted in the UK and 2 in Belgium, 6 made from metal in Zimbabwe, one clay owl, one metal heron, one metal cock, one metal hen, one metal cat and a metal frog.
I really dislike gnomes and fairies and twee stuff but that's a matter of taste and they'd look very foolish in my garden. Don't think it's stuffy of the RHS to ban them from Chelsea but I expect the designers and exhibitors will have some fun with them this year. The RHS does a lot of really good work promoting gardening for children, schools and communities as well as research and advice on plants, diseases, design and so on. Most of its experts and committee members are professional gardeners and nurserymen and women earning a modest living, not landed gentry and toffs.
