For families who are wondering what to do with the kids at half term, Squire’s Garden Centres have found some gnomes that need a home!  

Parents are being invited to bring their children along to paint a gnome, name it, and take it home with them, all for £4.

There will also be  a colouring competition (with a prize to won) and a garden maze to be negotiated (with a sticker for those who complete it).

Squire’s say they are keen encourage the resurgence of garden gnomes

The first known garden gnomes were produced in Germany in the early 1800’s, and they started to appear in English gardens from the 1840’s onwards. Gnomes are symbols of good luck, and they were placed in the garden to protect buried treasure, minerals in the ground, and watch over crops.  Farmers believed this good luck charm could increase their crop yield, and protect them from thieves and pests.

Gnomes have become controversial in serious gardening circles in the UK, and have been banned from the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as the organisers claimed that they detracted from the garden designs.  The ban was lifted just for 2013, which was the 100-year anniversary of gnomes.