Live Human Garden Ornaments of the 18th Century
Rich people used to hire hermits to live in their gardens for kicks.
Green grass, lively flowers, tall trees, and a disheveled white-haired hermit — all things that you’d in a garden of the wealthy English elite of the 18th century. Having a human garden ornament, a possible precursor to the garden gnome, was the best way to flex your wealth back then.
The now-forgotten practice was a real job with wages and obligations.
Origins
Saint Francis of Paola is said to have been the first-ever garden hermit in History.
Francis subscribed to the “holy hermit” life, shunning away material things to develop a closer relationship with God. Because of his wisdom, the hermit became a close confidant to King Charles VIII. The King built a small structure in one of his estates for the hermit to live in.
Nobles from the French kingdom soon wanted similar guidance, so they built small chapels and other structures in their gardens to house wise religious hermits.
Over time, the visiting British aristocrat associated luxurious gardens with old hermits. They brought the trend to their own properties in England, and it became all the rage in the 18th to 19th century.
