Weird Gardens - 1

Weird Gardens - 2 Reishee Sowa of Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, grew tired of trying to live self-sufficiently on dry land, especially as neighbours kept raiding his organic vegetables and leaving him with nothing to eat. So he hand built his own island garden out of used plastic bottles. 250,000 of them, plus some construction leftovers and bags of leaves, make up his island. He claims ‘We are being faced with a population explosion and maybe building islands is the answer. This island is an example of something that could be built worldwide. You could be totally self sufficient with it. All is as natural as possible. I catch rain water for showers, the toilet naturally composts, and you can grow your own produce. ‘ The island garden actually floats, and is relatively moveable, although it has to be moored in a backwater as it would break up under strong winds or currents.

From self-sufficiency to self-disclosure is a short step, but it’s one that could lead to a criminal record for one proud gnome owner. Tony Watson, a former Army sergeant has been threatened with arrest after a complaint that his five garden gnomes were too cheeky.

A police officer in Barnsley says he could be reported under the Public Order Offences Act and the two-feet-tall ornaments confiscated, unless he removes them. His collection includes gnome one peeing in a bucket, a female gnome fully exposed and another revealing her breasts. ‘It is an offence to display something that is insulting or likely to cause distress, ‘ a police spokeswoman ‘Although some people view the gnomes as a bit of harmless fun, we have to take complaints from members of the public seriously. ‘

One of the gnomes now sports a polka-dot bikini.

Biker Gnome photograph by merfam, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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