Shropshire's obsession with garden gnomes

From meerkats to moggies, ornaments are brightening up our gardens and giving us a much needed laugh, writes Ben Bentley.

Elf and safety! A bulbous-nosed gnome flashes a cheeky smile from the herbaceous border, while a sentry meerkat wears a red bandana to show off his status.

And, tucked under a wooden bench to spare the blushes of the inhibited, another drops his trousers for a comfort break.

To some, they may be a touch naff and tacky, but it's hard to be miserable when you are greeted at the garden gate by armies of cheeky plastic creatures.

"They do put a smile on your face," says Shropshire enthusiast Angela Robinson, whose garden near Roden is populated with more than 100 figures, ranging from your common or garden gnomes and meerkats to otters, badgers, dogs, cockerels and butterflies.

At a time when we could all do with a spot of cheering up, the wonderful world of garden decoration has become a bit like Christmas lights for summertime.

And like Christmas lights, they are contagious. Take a drive around and the trend is clear for all to see - those resin squirrels, fairies and made-up fantasy figures appear have been breeding during the winter, and now, come spring, gardens are patrolled by armies of the colourful things.

Around the corner from Angela Robinson's colourful garden, a gaggle of gnomes have even appeared at the bus stop.

"Some of the children put them there - we think it's lovely," she says.

"We put a couple more there," adds her husband Tom. "I was thinking of taking a policeman gnome down to look after them. I still might."

The number of garden gnomes is set to increase by 1.4 million this summer as people look to "cheer up" their homes, a new report has predicted. And a quarter of residents in Oxford are said to own gnomes.

The popularity, in part, is perhaps due to the fact that the cute garden creatures have found their voice in the recent movie Gnomeo and Juliet.

Pretend garden meerkats have also found a role model in the shape of the character from those catchy Compare The Market commercials. But all manner of ornaments and figurines are flying off the shelves at garden centres as people look to bring a splash of colour and character to the kerb appeal of their homes.

Across Shropshire, garden centres are reporting strong sales of gnomes and many can't get enough meerkats to meet demand.

"We did have meerkats but we sold out of them," says Pamela Oldfield who runs Roden Nurseries, near Shawbury. "I don't know why they are so popular but it's probably because of the television commercial.

"They make you smile - and sometimes they make you laugh.

"We sell gnomes and frogs, badgers, rabbits, robins - they are actually quite tasteful. They look natural and they are low maintenance and don't need feeding!"

Val Drury from Oswestry has gone one further, creating a bespoke array of owls to decorate her garden and visitors might be tempted to greet her with an ornithological "Too-wit, too-woo".

Val's home is a veritable shrine to her favourite bird; she has hundreds of them - and their beady eyes follow you as you approach.

In her garden are huge wooden carvings of owls, owls fashioned into an iron gate, another into a bench. Her doorstep is engraved with owls, and the theme continues inside her house which is festooned with figurines, paintings drawings, nests of tables, and even a clock - all owl related.

"I bought some ornaments when I was on honeymoon 36 years ago and it's gone from there. I've never thrown any away," she says.

"I'm just an owl freak," she adds with a smile. "I've got hundreds."

"I think they do look nice - they certainly cheer people up." But Val is not the only around here to personalise their gardens There's a chap around the corner with totem poles in his, she points out.

Meanwhile, in their front and back gardens Angela and Tom Robinson keep good company, but with so many quirky characters it's hard to take it all in.

There's a life-size German Shepherd and sausage dog that takes three strong men to lift, a painted cockerel, caterpillars, a pig playing the piano, a host of pixies and birds, plus small scale windmills, lighthouses, wishing wells and wheelbarrows.

A man made out of painted wood, a quirky cricketer, a footballer and a referee sending him off complete the scene.

"We started collecting them 25 years ago when we used to go on holiday to Filey on the Yorkshire coast," explains Angela.

"There was this bungalow which had gnomes in the garden - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves - and we liked them so we brought some back with us from there."

And if proof were needed about the uplifting effects of garden decorations, ask some of Angela and Tom's visitors about them.

"We had the gas man round and he sat down on the bench there and said 'I could sit here and look at this all day'."

But as with most ever expanding collections, just where will it all end?

"I think ours may have to end quite soon," says Angela as she pretties her garden. "I don't think we've got room for many more."

By Ben Bentley

• Is your garden making us smile? Have you brightened yours up by decorating it with creatures such as gnomes, meerkats and frogs? Send us pictures of you in your gardens, e-mailing them to starfeatures@shropshirestar.co.uk