A Dutch Garden [and a gnome]

Recently, after school hours, my son asked me to go to a little friend's home. Actually two of his friends were going to spend the afternoon in a babysitter' home. First lunch and then playing in the garden. I asked Ms. M. (the "oppas" ) whether that was okay - and extra child for lunch and to take care - and whether I could first visit her place. She was more than happy to show me the way and introduce me to her dogs and her amazing house, L-shaped: half on the ground, half on water.

I was acquainted to that area of my village: a long corridor of houses with lovely gardens and no passage for the cars. Nevertheless, I had never gone until the end of it. Well, there is a point where many houses are on pillars above water, but with a a bridge to ground and a private garden. I've made many pictures there for future posts and I think I will come back there to take more.

The first picture of this post is of Ms. M.'s garden. There are ponds with golden fish, trees and a gnome (picture below):

It was huge fo gnome standards, almost a meter ! I have been spotting many other small friends ("kabouters" ) in gardens of my village lately. See some of them below, all good humoured, I must say:

All of them good humoured
all sizes and styles

I do not know why this obsession of the Dutch people from some villages with gnomes. I guess other North-European cultures share this love for them as well. I will be investingating more of all folklore about it (my husband has THE most important and biggest book about gnomes), it is a weird thing. At least they are all good humoured - giants, on the contraray, appear to be always angry !