Caption Contest Winners!

With more than fifty entries, Wilf's first Caption Contest on Twitter proved a roaring success! Wilf was slightly alarmed at how many people homed in on how pale his one compatriot was - clearly the minimalist look is in right now, and Wilf's feeling rather late to the party.

Nevertheless, our winners had to be chosen, and for their sheer wit and good humour, these four came out on top:

@WoodlandWilf Wilf loved nothing more than hanging out with his gnomies.
— Nicola O'Brien (@popple79) December 18, 2013

@WoodlandWilf Anyway said Dave, they sent us home on Elf and safety grounds, so you gnome me...spot of fishing was in order!
— Ellie Powell (@lynfordthecrab) December 19, 2013

@WoodlandWilf There's a fine line between fishing and standing round a plant saucer like an idiot.
— Jeanette Horner (@sparklingshrimp) December 10, 2013

@WoodlandWilf this is clearly the "place" to fish
— Jennifer Mudge (@jennsbargains27) December 5, 2013

Each winning entrant will be receiving one of the four new Wilf designs shortly - who knows, maybe one of them will take their own Wilf on a fishing trip?!

Wilf's Caption Competition

Wilf’s a generous fellow, and always up for a good laugh. Following the recent reveal of his latest wardrobe changes (available now in a garden centre near you), this little gnome’s keen to give you the chance to win one of the four new Wilf designs for yourself.

All you need to do is get your improvisation cap on, and take part in a game of wits and wordplay:

#Competition! 4 best captions for this photo will #win one of the new Wilf designs! Ends 11pm 19/12. Please RT pic.twitter.com/d1R1EUe6kk
— Woodland Wilf (@WoodlandWilf) December 5, 2013

Interested? Get your entries in on Twitter now! We’ve already had a choice few come in, and the four best captions will each be rewarded with one of the new Wilfs. You’ve got until the 19^th to enter, so get thinkin’!

Enter here: https://twitter.com/WoodlandWilf/status/408579391757631488

Why Wilf is No Fair Weather Friend

 

Autumn draws in, bringing with it plenty of frost, wind - and an increase in gnome-nappers it would seem!

The abduction of garden gnomes is nothing new; indeed, Wilf himself has a longstanding feud with the Gnome Liberation Front, believing that gnomes residing in residential areas are doing so out of choice. Any talk of these mythic creatures being institutionalised is pure fabrication.

Yet when Di Evans (@spellboundmedia) brought Wilf and a recently bereaved Gnome-keeper together on Twitter, our plucky little guy knew he had to do something to brighten up @ellenstarbuck's day:

“@ellenstarbuck: Someone stole my mum's garden gnome. How very the year Amelie was released.” @WoodlandWilf Oh no! Wilf to the rescue? Xx
— Di Evans (@spellboundmedia) November 16, 2013

Wilf to the rescue, indeed! Or at least, one of Wilf's (even) smaller nephews - namely, the Woodland Wilf Scores a Hat Trick keyring.

Nevertheless, "a legendary creature in alchemy and in modern fantasy fiction" is "a legendary creature in alchemy and in modern fantasy fiction", no matter how big or small, and there was a gnomic vacancy in @ellenstarbuck's life that needed to be filled.

@ellenstarbuck Might be a little smaller than what you mum is used to, but every home deserves a gnome!
— Woodland Wilf (@WoodlandWilf) November 18, 2013

 Wilf's just trying to spread the love.

UPDATE 03/12/13:

Ellen's sent in this photo of her mum and the new addition to their family. Aww:

 

October Photo Round-up

Tonight's the night for all things spooky and spectacular. An evening of witches and ghouls, ghosts and goblins. And, in particularly enthusiastic gardens, a time for Wilf to dodge silly string and toilet roll until dawn.

Yes, it's Halloween, which also means it's the 31st October, the end of quite a tumultous month for old Wilf. Here's a run down of just what our favourite garden dweller has been up to this past month.

Wilf the Prize Winner

When we last caught up with Wilf, he'd crowned himself Poet Gnomeate, and was eagerly setting down to write his personal memoir in limerick form. Half an hour later he flung his pen at the floor and gave up. His lyrical career may have been short lived, but as far as accolades go, winning a bag of sweets and a copy of 'Game' from Harper Collins isn't such a poor end to proceedings!

Celebrating a Wedding

  
 Wilf's Twitter friend James Pendred kindly notified of him of his latest exemplary role - 'Wedding Gift'. Unfortunately, it seems he was caught running a little late..Wilf wishes Tom Moseley and his wife all the best!

Gaining some Work Experience
 

Wilf quite fancies a career in the media when he grows up. In fact, he's been doing some work experience with our friends at Garden Centre Update magazine. Here he is taking a break from investigative reporting at journal manager Jill Williams' desk.


500 Facebook Fans!

It looks like Wilf got dressed up in his new favourite outfit to celebrate his latest social media milestone - five hundred followers on his Facebook page! The starburst effect does a great job of making Wilf look taller too, so it's win win all round.

Want to help make Wilf's November? Send your woodland photos to woodlandwilf@solusgl.com, or get involved on Facebook and Twitter!

There's a New Wilf (or Four) in Town...

 With over twenty unique designs having been available since he first made his way into gardens in 2006, Woodland Wilf has proved more than a little popular with the gnome adoring public. He’s had a love come and go (hello goodbye, Woodland Willow), and created his own set of Woodland Friends, but it’s high time that Wilf himself had a makeover.  Little did Wilf realise, however, that new wardrobe changes would also grant Wilf the thing he wants most – height!

Four new Wilf designs will soon be available in garden centres and figurine stockists across the UK, capturing all aspects of gnome life (Born to be Wild Wilf is still riding on into the sunset, for those who are interested). Above, from left to right:

GN0063 Woodland Wilf…Waves His Wand
GN0062 Woodland Wilf…Sees the Light

GN0060 Woodland Wilf…Pots the Plants

GN0061 Woodland Wilf…Tends to the Flowers

It’s good to see that, for at least a brief moment, Wilf went along with the whole ‘mystical creatures’ angle, though perhaps someone should tell him that having a good beard doesn’t automatically make him a wizard. ‘…Pots the Plants’ sees Wilf again doing his best around your flower beds and borders while you’re away, whilst ‘…Tends the Flowers’ is a rather nice reworking of the original ‘…Waters the Plants’, now standing 5cm taller! 

To Wilf, this is no small improvement in stature.

Finally, ‘…Sees the Light’ features a discrete solar panel on Wilf’s back that powers his very own lamp in the evening. Now the little man will never lose his way heading back from an evening by the pond.

Click here to find your nearest stockist.

Woodland Wilf, Poet Gnomeate

Let it never be said that Mr. Wilf does not have a way with words. With yesterday seeing the return of National Poetry Day, it seemed that everyone and their grandmother had a rhyme they wanted to share with the world. Harper Fiction, in celebration of this lyrical event, held a little Twitter competition looking for the best 140 character poem. Unfortunately, they also suggested that gnomes have very little talent indeed.

Cue Wilf’s first public reading:

Wilf’s point went perhaps a little bit too far though – he only went and won the sweets. He didn’t plan on intimidating anyone, he was just looking for an excuse to get on his soap box again. Oh Wilf.

Wilf vs the Garden Gnome Liberation Front

 For many years now, Wilf has greatly enjoyed making his home at the bottom of your gardens, enjoying a range of activities. Whether it’s feeding the birds, fishing for a whopper, or driving his wild hog bike into the sunset, he’s been happy to make his way around the many lawns and patios of Britain and beyond. 

So it came as something of a surprise to Wilf when he first heard of the GGLF, or Garden Gnome Liberation Front. This shadowy group have, over time, been spotted creeping around gardens known to be frequented by garden dwellers. Any gnomes resting there the night prior have mysteriously vanished by morning. Wilf himself once barely escaped their grasp one night. Or so he likes to boast.

Quite when the GGLF first came into being is uncertain, though they do have an official Facebook page, along with a brotherhood of similar organisations, which includes the America-based Free the Gnomes. All of these groups have a similar core mission; to their minds, gnomes residing in gardens are being held in captivity, and it’s their job to free them.

Sometimes, the gnomes disappear and never return. Often however, the elusive captors send photos of a ‘liberated’ gnome to its former owners, making sure to showcase some exotic new background in which the gnome is now residing. Whilst their porcelain faces still bear the same smile, there’s something undeniably melancholy in their expression, and when the gnomes are – in some cases – finally returned, they look all too glad to be back.

Have you had any run ins with the GGLF? Are you a secret member whose love of gnomes has turned into a move toward vigilantism? To Wilf’s mind, so long as he’s returned home safely, he probably wouldn’t mind a brief holiday abroad…

A Visit from Elderly Relatives

Wilf's recently had some old family friends drop by to the garden. They're certainly looking crumbly in their old age!
 

 

 

Lampy, the first Garden Gnome

Wilf might look like an old codger to some of you (a claim he would firmly deny), but in the world of

Garden Gnomes, little old Wilf is a spring chicken! A familiar sight in many gardens, Wilf and his kind are considered synonymous with traditional British gardening, and are alternately seen as cute, camp or kitsch depending upon just who you’re talking to.

Regardless, what is now a well-rooted cultural aspect of this nation’s gardens was once an exotic addition to the lawns of only the most eccentric lords and ladies. Gnomes were instead a familiar legend in German folk stories, where they would willingly help tend people’s gardens in the middle of the night. In the mid-19^th century, sculptor Philip Griebel made these legends real by adapting the tradition for porcelain “House Dwarfs” to outdoor, terracotta ornaments. The first garden gnomes were born.

In 1847, Sir Charles Isham paid a visit to Germany, and returned home with twenty-one such gnomes. After decorating them around the grounds of Lamport Hall, a nation-wide love for garden dwelling visitors quickly kicked off amongst the upper class, and the rise of the British gnome began in earnest.

Unfortunately, Sir Isham’s daughter wasn’t such a fan of these mythical creatures, and quickly had them all removed from the estate after her father’s death. All, that is, except one. Now known as ‘Lampy, the Garden Gnome’, this diminutive little figure is the oldest living garden gnome not merely in Britain, but across the globe. Having seen more than a century and a half of history go by, this 150 year old gnome proudly resides within Lamport Hall, and is believed to be worth a cool £2 million.

For Wilf, 150 years isn’t a dream. It’s a (potentially rather lofty) goal!

Woodland Wilf gets a Change of Wardrobe

Wilf's always been a big fan of mucking in and trying out new things. The fact that Wilf's been spotted not only helping out in the garden, but playing football, painting serene watercolour scenes and, of course, whittling his Woodland Friends figures proves that this gnome is an outgoing one, always willing to explore new horizons.

So it should come as no surprise that Wilf will soon be trying his hand at a few new hobbies, all of which will feature in a brand new series of figures, due out later this year. Wilf's already dropped a few image hints on social media, shared again here, but he's remaining tight lipped on just what's to come for the Woodland Wilf series. He is, however, willing to drop a couple more teasers.

Garden gnomes recently made their debut at the Chelsea Flower Show, when the event's 100 year ban on 'Mystical Creatures' was temporarily lifted as part of its centenary celebrations. Whilst this did of course allow for Wilf and his fellow gnomekind to frolic amongst the likes of Alan Titchmarch, David Domoney and Her Royal Highness, he strongly opposes the suggestion that gnomes are anything like 'mythical' or 'fictional' beings. His bruised knees - a result of chasing down the frogs to get back his hat - feel rather real when he wakes up every morning.

Nevertheless, Wilf's game for a laugh, and for those who do feel gnomes belong amongst the ranks of Tolkienesque fantasy, his new wand should prove a particular delight...

In fact, some would say Wilf may have 'Seen the Light'!