The Cult of the Garden Gnome: From English Reserves to Bush Lookalikes

Garden gnomes inspire a devotion that borders on religion. Nowhere is this clearer than at The Gnome Reserve and Wildflower Garden in North Devon, England—home to over 1,000 free-roaming gnomes, a wildflower meadow, stream, pond, and woodlands. Visitors receive pointy hats and fishing poles to "fit in" with the residents.

The reserve features exhibits on gnome manufacturing and painting, plus a museum chronicling their history. Legend says the gnomes tend the wildflowers and fish the pond by night.

Gnomes Go Digital

The cult thrives online:

• nigelthegnome.com – A Florida gnome's cross-country travels in photos.
• bushgnome.com – Gnomes bearing an uncanny resemblance to George W. Bush.
• thenaughtygnome.com – "Special appreciation for the moon."
• freethegnomes.com – The Garden Gnome Liberation Front, advocating "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for gnomes everywhere."
• barganews.com/gnomes – Documented "gnome liberation" success stories.

Of course, gnome hate sites exist too—proof that no subculture is without critics. But the movement's creativity and humor suggest garden gnomes have secured their place in the cultural landscape, pointy hats and all.