I recently got my beloved a gift. It is a meditating garden gnome. He sits in a lotus position with his little cute round nose and his really ugly bare feet as he meditates.
It's funny. My gnomes occurred when I talked to a friend about gnomes and she decided I must like them. In the last three or four years, I've suddenly received in the mail a number of gift gnomes. We finally declared our homes gnome free zones and set up a treaty so we are not buying each other gnomes.
But again I started to read up on garden gnomes and ended up down a quirky hallway to a time in the past.
In 19th-century Europe, actual-flesh-and-blood humans acted as ornamental garden hermits on the estates of the wealthy.
First wealthy landowners desired expansive and often ornate gardens. This would not only reflect financial riches but also solitude with these overt displays of wealth.
Wealthy landowners begn placing want ads which sought men who would agree to live in a garden for a span (usually seven years) and devote themselves to a silent, forlorn existence.
An example of an ad: "he shall be provided with a Bible, optical glasses, a mat for his feet, a hassock for his pillow, and hourglass for a timepiece, water for his beverage, and food from the house. He must wear a camlet robe and never cut his hair, beard, or nails, or stray beyond the limits of the grounds, or exchange words with the staff.
They lived in small shacks built for them. An ornamental garden hermit was an asset for others to praise. But has the live garden hermit gone away? In summer of 2004, Craig's List had an advertisement stating "Gentle Lady Seeks Ornamental Hermit."
Thus again we find that there have been fads and movements that we could never imagine. It again points out that we must walk the planet with an open mind. If a human being can think about it, it is possible. What do you have in your garden?
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