Create a Magical Gnome Home in Your Garden

A visitor once raved about the "gnomes" in our garden. The catch? We didn't have any. That comment sparked a winter-long project: build a hidden gnome dwelling that feels like a genuine discovery.

Design Concept

The goal: a partially concealed scene suggesting a gnome actually lives there. Key elements:

• A miniature door at the base of a mature spruce ("Bruce the Spruce")
• A cobblestone path connecting the door to an existing flagstone walkway
• A small gnome statue positioned naturally
• A "tree face" (eyes, nose, mouth) on the trunk at eye level to draw attention

Building the Door

I sourced a concrete fairy door (Enchanted Gardens), but it looked like a tombstone against the bark. Solution: I salvaged bark strips from a neighbor's dead spruce and glued them to the door's edges and top. Leaned against the trunk, it now blends perfectly.

The Cobblestone Path

Flat, smooth craft-store pebbles in varying sizes create a winding path from the door to the garden's main flagstone walk. The irregular spacing and sizes feel organic.

Choosing & Placing the Gnome

I let the door size dictate the gnome's scale—he had to fit through it. Mine came from Gnome Outlet, arms crossed in classic taciturn pose, nestled among Jack-in-the-pulpit at the tree's base.

The Reveal

The tree face ("Bruce the Spruce") is the hook. Visitors spot the face, lean in, and discover the gnome home at ground level. The delight never gets old.

Sources for Your Own Gnome Home

• Doors: Enchanted Gardens, The Fairy Door and Window Company, Plow and Hearth
• Gnomes: Local garden centers, Gnome Outlet, Garden Statue Shop, Gnome Town USA, Kimmel Gnomes
• Pebbles: Craft stores, Crate and Barrel, Rainbow Turtle

No suitable tree? A stump works beautifully.

Gnome Lore

Gnomes are European earth spirits—bearded, pointy-hatted, aloof. The first ceramic garden gnomes were made in Gräfenroda, Germany by Philip Griebel (mid-1800s), based on myths of nocturnal garden helpers. A group of gnomes is a donsey. Folklore names include Sprin, Rumo, Pinny, Fislet, Gulcifer. "Gnome hunting" (theft) is a real phenomenon. Tolkien once called the Noldoli elves "Gnomes." Wil Huygen authored The Secret Book of Gnomes (attributed to "David the Gnome").