For those of you who haven’t seen Amélie, let me explain what gnoming is.
Gnoming – Definition 1
A garden gnome is borrowed from a yard and then taken on a trip. The owner might find a note from the gnome and will very likely receive postcards from the travel locations. Now, gnoming is a practical yoke and as an unwritten rule, the gnome will be returned to the owner.
Do you remember these guys? I meant to photograph them in every season, but they went missing.
In the last few years, quite a few of the gnomes you’ve seen on this blog disappeared. I wonder if their owners ever received any postcards. The photos preserve the memories. Wait, does that mean gnomes count as street art?
The earliest recorded incident of a traveling gnome was in 1986 when gnome Bilbo from Sydney disappeared.
In 2008 garden gnome Murphy from Gloucester traveled for seven months and visited fun places like Swaziland, New Zealand and Vietnam. (source & pictures)
And in the country where everything has to be bigger, better, faster and more, gnome Severson from Washington became a celebrity. In 2005 he visited California and Las Vegas, took photos with Paris Hilton & Co. and even made it into People Magazine. Meanwhile, the owner had not noticed he was missing.
You thought that was the end of the story? Owner Marianne was so annoyed by the media attention that she sold her gnome on eBay. Little did she know that her friends bought him. So Severson kept sending her photos from places like Italy and Mexico. That’s what friends are for.
Gnoming is so popular that it found its way into popular culture. In 1995 there was an incident on Coronation Street (episodes 3853 and 3855, if you care). Roaming gnomes also appear as easter eggs in Sim City and The Sims.
Gnoming – Definition 2
For some people gnoming has replaced planking. They just pose on some lawn like a garden gnome.
People need hobbies…
Need more gnome stories? Clicketyclick!
The Garden Gnome Shortage of 2021
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Gosh I had no idea. I thought the thefts were mischief-makers with larceny in their hearts. 💙
Ha ha, thank you. Part of me believes, when people steel them, they intend to bring them back. Such is life, the reality is often different. Watch out for your gnomes 🙂
Any gnome on the street is street art. A gnome in a garden is garden art. I once saw one on a balcony in Paris. That is Balcony art…
I love your style!
Danke Schön. (I love your approach to Kitsch…)
Well, thank you Sir! Should print that & frame it. Unfortunately, my niche doesn’t seem very profitable
I imagine a few people make money of blogging. A handful I assume. Blogging is probably not about profits.
So, your niche? It is yours and yours alone. I’m sure you have fun composing your posts, as we have fun reading them. Let your garden gnomes bring peace to this world…
I think I saw that second one on the side of a milk carton. I hope everything turns out all right. Actually i tool my mothers gnome on a trip. she thought i was great but I would never do it to a strangers gnome
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Laugh at yourself
I remember back when The Roaming Gnome was the Travelocity mascot in their commercials! 😁
Hmm – I had no idea gnomes were stolen. Here, soon people will be putting hanging baskets around their home … then after dark, the folks who buy video surveillance cameras for outside their homes, notice people brazenly walking up to their porch or front garden and walking away carrying their hanging basket(s). Also, catalytic converters in cars are also a big item that thieves steal and replace them is anywhere from $1,000.00 to $2,500.00 (USD)! The newest thing is stealing steering wheels and air bags – the scrap metal people do that. At least this is fun, but if I had a gnome I liked, I’d anchor him to something or bring him in after sundown.
Hanging baskets? But of course … Steering wheels is amazing. Why not take the whole damn car? I’ve heard about copper pipes dissaperaing from construction sites and now I need to look up, what is actually in an airbag 😉 Sunday Mornding reading covered
I guess there are metal pieces in the airbags … really, that much metal in an airbag? But I guess there is metal because when airbags were exploding, they would burst and spew metal that was compared to nails or shrapnel flying out at a high rate of speed. “Scrappers” get a lot of money for stripping a house … if you have to leave and cannot sell the house right away, you have to have someone watching that house, or the scrappers will carry away what they can, even removing an air conditioner unit from the back of the house … no words.
It’s an interesting phenomegnome for sure! The movie Amelie is charming isn’t it, and no doubt adds to the fun. On an old Star Wars forum I was a member of, we posted an action figure to one another and took photos of the figure’s adventures in many international cities and towns. The figure even had his own mock passport. Great fun seeing it show up in so many different places 😁
That sounds like fun! Even faux passport. Do you still own any photos?
Yes, I still have some pics (somewhere). I remember when the figure came to me I took him to a local beach for his photoshoot, and posed him inside a Playmobil beach tent… got some strange looks that day 🙃
Yeah, had that with gnomes. People can be so odd
When my son was young, he took a teddy bear with him and the bear appeared in photos in all our trips. LOL
Oh, I understand. We had Ted. For a good 4 years the world evolved around him! Don’t loose him on the beach or at Ikea 😅
I once had to turn back and drive an hour back to his grandparents because he forgot him. My trip that day was 8 hours instead of six. We laugh about it – now.
You’re a good man 👌
Oh man. Now I’m going to have to take a gnome to the Eastern Plains of Colorado so I can sing, “Gnome, gnome on the range…” Putting it on the stove is out of the question, of course.
Oh, would you please record that on video? Go for it!
😂 lol. I can’t say when but yes I will.
DANKE!!!
For a while there, a few people in my village were hiding gnomes in other people’s gardens and denying all responsibility. I guess, from you definition, that’s not gnoming, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t be.
As per usual, your research adds greatly to this. If only all of this world read your blog! x
OK, I couldn’t help it but looking into this … This too is called gnoming! I am afraid, my research lacked a bit over the years. Someone has to uncover the untold story of gnomes
A shocking situation indeed! Not long after the film came out, a gnome was taken from the house where I used to live. The landlady received a note saying the gnome was traveling and would be back. But he never returned. Now that I have my own house, my gnome, Henri, does not sit outside after dark. 😀
You sure are a smart mermaid. My Paul never is alone outside. Neither are the others. Best regards to Henri!
Fun article! We loved the movie Amelie.
Me too! It is so poetic, from the music to the scenery.
Yes, just the sort of quirky I like. So curious, is the great British gnome shortage over?
I did ask the mighty search engine but all that comes up are the original articles (which all link to the same one interview). If you beleive the news, the UK are running out of a lot of things but hey, here in Berlin you are happy when you grab a bottle of oil … which might be a different story 😉 At least here, you’ll always find gnomes!
Yes, I did the same and with the same results -gnome idea.;) There are cooking oil shortages in Germany, especially olive oil? Here the main shortages were toilet paper and wood, not half as fun!
Hahaha … what a great start to the day!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. People really need to be aware of this shocking situation