Garden gnomes should make a permanent return to the Chelsea flower show, according to celebrities who have painted the mythical creatures for the king's garden at this year's event.
At the high-end event, which begins on Tuesday in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in south-west London, the so-called tacky statues have been banned since 1927. Speaking at the show's press day, comedian and musician Bill Bailey, alongside gardener and author Alan Titchmarsh, urged the Royal Horticultural Society to lift the gnome ban permanently.
This year, the show has made a one-off exception to the prohibition to raise funds for the RHS's school gardening campaign, an initiative designed to engage children in horticulture. The gnomes will be auctioned off throughout the week.
Bailey, holding the lawn ornament he painted with a purple and gold striped hat, said: 'The origins of gnomes, as you well know, is the Latin gnomus, meaning earth dweller. The Romans had them as guardians of the garden, to protect against malign spirits. So I think they have been much maligned.'
Titchmarsh, who painted his gnome in a neat blue suit, agreed: 'I think it's no harm to have little ones sneaking out now and again to remind us that you might as well have a bit of fun.'
Speaking from the king's garden, which includes an organic vegetable patch and a shed full of garden curiosities, the pair described their ornaments. Titchmarsh said he decorated his to match his outfit: 'Mine is in a blue suit to match me and he also has a red and white striped tie but you can't see it because he has a giant beard.' He added that it took him 'ages' to paint it.
Bailey said of his gnome: 'Mine is a comment on AI. When my gnome was delivered to me, the top of its hat had broken off, and I fixed it with gold acrylic. This is kintsugi, the Japanese art of fixing with gold, which celebrates imperfection, which is what AI couldn't do.'
King Charles is said to have been keen for the gnome ban to be lifted so some could be displayed in a feature garden he co-designed with Titchmarsh. The monarch is a fan of the fairytale characters and has one in the grounds of his Gloucestershire estate.
David Beckham, who co-designed the garden with the king and Titchmarsh, also painted a gnome for auction, choosing pink and glitter to decorate it. Other celebrities who have painted gnomes for auction include Dame Mary Berry, Sir Brian May, and the peer Floella Benjamin.
Titchmarsh appears to have been convinced by the king to change his views on garden rewilding. There has been a trend in recent years to plant wildflowers, which some traditionalists view as weeds, and to avoid mowing lawns to encourage wildlife. Titchmarsh has previously derided this as an 'ill-considered trend' that could 'deplete our gardens of their botanical riches.' However, the king wanted wildflowers and weeds for nature, including nettles to encourage butterflies in the garden.
Frances Tophill, a horticulturalist and author who also co-designed the garden, said: 'I was a bit nervous about putting weeds in there.' But Titchmarsh said: 'They're wildflowers! I love nettles, they're good for butterflies. No, we need them in the garden, we want to attract wildlife.' He enjoyed working with the king and said it was a delightful experience, adding: 'Our ideas were very aligned.'
One thing Titchmarsh would like to ban from gardens is noisy machinery such as leaf blowers, particularly on Sundays. He said: 'I think those things take away from the natural world, you know, when you suddenly hear something mechanical, and I'd ban anything noisy on a Sunday.' He added that he never mows his lawn on Sundays, and neither should anyone else: 'I haven't used a power tool on a Sunday for years, not through any religious aspect, but just because I think people should have one day a week of peace and quiet.'
