The Chelsea Flower Show has traditionally frowned upon garden gnomes since 1927, but celebrities are calling for the ban to be lifted permanently. At this year’s event, comedian and musician Bill Bailey and gardener and author Alan Titchmarsh urged the Royal Horticultural Society to allow gnomes on a permanent basis.
The show made a one-off decision to ease the prohibition to raise funds for the RHS’s campaign for school gardening. Gnomes painted by celebrities will be auctioned during the week. Bailey described his gnome, which features a purple and gold striped hat, as a comment on AI, while Titchmarsh’s is dressed in a blue suit to match his own.
King Charles, who co-designed a garden with Titchmarsh and David Beckham, is said to have been keen for the ban to be lifted. Beckham painted a gnome in pink and glitter for auction. Other celebrities who painted gnomes include Dame Mary Berry, Sir Brian May and Floella Benjamin.
Titchmarsh appears to have changed his views on rewilding, previously deriding the trend as an “ill-considered trend” but now expressing support for wildflowers and nettles to attract butterflies. He also said he would ban noisy machinery on Sundays, adding that he never mows his lawn on that day.
The event kicks off on Tuesday at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in south-west London. The painted gnomes are part of a fundraising initiative to encourage children to get involved in horticulture.
