Bird nest box design cartoon
A bird ignoring an ornate nesting box – the bird is building a nest in a branch fork under the nesting box
Ref: a633
Gardening cartoon – beer traps to trap slugs
Gardening cartoon – catching slugs with beer traps
A cartoon about garden pests – slugs – and how to eliminate them
A joke about beer drinking – the man is drinking a can of lager and wants to open another one
a584
Gardening cartoon – a man sowing flower seed and a cat sowing bird seed
Gardening cartoon – a man sowing flower seed and a cat sowing bird seed
The man is looking forward to flowers growing from the seeds he is sowing
The cat is looking forward to seeing birds sprout from the seed it is sowing – as it’s sowing bird seed
a583
Garden tools cartoon – labour saving gardening tools
Garden tools cartoon
Labour saving gardening tools
A humorous observation about hard to start power tools.
The joke is that power tools, which are meant to be labour saving, can be exhausting to get started, especially if they are started by pulling a starting chord
More of my gardening cartoons
a582
Garden cartoons – noisy neighbours cartoon
Noisy neighbours cartoon
Cartoon showing problem neighbours hanging a loudspeaker outdoors in a tree.
A gardener is hanging a bird nesting box in a tree. The loudspeaker looks very similar to the nesting box, which is part of the joke
A humorous observation about neihbors from hell, encouraging birds in the garden, inconsiderate neighbours
a578
Gardening cartoon – hanging baskets from electricity pylons
Garden design cartoon
Hanging hanging baskets from electricity pylons
Disguising an eye sore in the garden by planting
An illustration of a person turning a disadvantage into an advantage by using a bit of creativity
a577
Gardening cartoon – using false perspective to make a garden look bigger
Garden design cartoon
Using false perspective to make a garden look bigger than it is
The use of trompe l’oeil in the garden – to make a window box look like a large garden
a576
Gardening cartoon – relaxing in the garden when it’s too hot for gardening
Gardening cartoon.
Relaxing in the garden when it’s too hot for gardening
A cartoon of a woman relaxing in a hammock in her garden on a sunny summer’s day
a575
Sundial cartoon. A sundial is a solar powered clock
Sundial cartoon. A sundial is a solar powered clock
In the cartoon a person is looking at a sundial and is saying “It’s incredible that all those years ago they’d developed solar-powered clocks.”
The cartoon illustrated how in the modern world we assume everything has to be powered by a relatively modern form of power, such as electricity in the form of batteries or mains electricity. In the past everything was powered by “sustainable” or “natural” resources, such as solar power, the wind or water.
A cartoon about the history of clocks, horology
a544
Gardening cartoon – flower appreciation guide book
Gardening cartoon – flower appreciation guide book
Cartoon showing a gardener looking in a book to see how different types of flower should be appreciated
The cartoon is about conventions of taste and aesthetic judgements as much as it’s about gardening
A cartoon about aesthetics, taste, beauty, design, cultural convention, artistic taste.
a518
Gardening Cartoons
Welcome to my selection of gardening cartoons
To see my cartoons on the subject please click the image to the right or click the link below.
Gardening cartoons
Butterfly friendly insecticide cartoon
A cartoon about selective pesticide – butterfly and ladybird friendly insecticide
A joke about insecticide that kills only ugly insects
The cartoon has deeper meanings about how we judge things by appearance, by prejudice or by attractiveness.
It’s also about gardening and the aesthetic values that are deployed in the garden (such as in the selection of plants and flowers, not just in the selection of pests). However it’s also about the wider phenomenon of judging everything, including people, by appearance
a472
Pareidolia image – a flower that looks like a human face
Pareidolia – an orchid flower as a man’s head
A photograph of an orchid flower that looks like a human head
An illustration or artwork about pareidolia – illusion of seeing faces where they don’t exist.
More pareidolia images here: Pareidolia 1 and Pareidolia 2
a420
Mushroom illustration – toadstool illustration – fungi
A drawing of a mushroom
Fungus illustration
Toadstool sketch
A drawing of a toadstool, mushroom or similar fungus, inspired by a walk in the park in autumn
The fungus in this drawing is a purely impressionistic one, made up on my sketch pad in my studio. It is meant to give the feel for the fungus rather than being a scientific representation of one
A drawing about autumn, fungi, mushrooms, toadstools.
A digital painting of fungus.
a400
Seeing the face of God in a flower – cartoon
See the face of God in a flower – cartoon
A cartoon showing a Sunday school teacher telling her pupils that you can see the face of God when you look at a flower.
One of the children is imagining the face of a pansy as the face of God.
Pansies do have faces after all.
Seeing faces in things is known as pareidolia.
a396
Gardening cartoon – insect repellant
Gardening humour – how to repel midges
How to repel midges when outdoors
Midges are a pest in the garden and outdoors. They may be small but they go around in swarms and their bites can drive a person to the point of distraction. However, a slight breeze is all it takes to get rid of them.
This cartoon shows a method of producing such a breeze.
Ref: a665
Organic gardening cartoon – worms dragging unwanted organic matter underground
Organic gardening cartoon – worms dragging unwanted organic matter underground
Cartoon showing a woman thinking about her husband being dragged under the soil by worms. Wishful thinking
A cartoon about organic gardening
The woman in the cartoon is a keen organic gardener – and her husband is a lazy waste of space.
She is thinking about the organic gardening principle that you should allow worms to drag decaying organic matter into the soil, and she is wishing that the worms would do that to her husband
a298
Garden plant protection cartoon
Gardening cartoon – a novel way to protect plants from bad weather conditions
Cartoon showing small umbrellas as a novelty form of plant protector in the garden
The advantage of these mini umbrellas is that because they are vivid colours they bring a welcome splash of colour to the garden during dull weather
a297
Topiary cartoon
Garden cartoon
Topiary cartoon – gardener creating a topiary chair
Cartoon showing a gardener relaxing in a chair that he has clipped as a piece of topiary from a bush. He is reading a magazine called ‘Topiary Monthly’
A cartoon about topiary art, clipping hedges, topiary animals, garden furniture, garden chairs, relaxing in the garden
a296
Flower gardening cartoon – the joy of small flowers
Garden cartoon – how to appreciate small flowers
Cartoon showing a microscope being used to admire tiny flowers in a garden
A cartoon about microscopy, studying flowers, size isn’t everything, beauty in small things
a295
Solar powered sundial cartoon – a sundial with solar panels
Garden cartoon – a garden sundial that is powered by a solar panel and that has a digital display
Cartoon showing a digital sundial
The original version of this cartoon was drawn many years ago, before the start of the recent proliferation in solar panels.
Part of the joke is that sundials are very low-tech devices, whereas the device in the cartoon is very high-tech. Both use the sun as a way of telling the time.
The cartoon questions the need to make everything hi-tech, because the normal sundial works almost as well as the solar panel electronic clock in the cartoon (except when the sun’s not shining of course, but let’s not get pedantic).
There is a companion cartoon that goes with this one in which a traditional sundial is advertised as a ‘solar powered clock‘
A cartoon about alternative technology, garden ornaments
Ref: a294
Summer gardening cartoon – gardening in dull weather, compensating for lack of sunshine
Garden cartoon – how to provide sunshine in overcast weather
Cartoon showing a gardener setting up a sun lamp to provide artificial sunshine to his garden plants
This cartoon was drawn during a prolonged period of very overcast summer weather, when the sun didn’t shine for a long period of time.
A cartoon about gardening equipment, flower gardening, encouraging plants, gardening in shady gardens, sun-loving plants
a293
Spring gardening cartoon – the results of an early spring
Spring gardening cartoon – an early spring
Cartoon showing the results of an early spring.
When spring arrives early in the year plants come out earlier. And so do neighbours.
Cartoon showing people relaxing in the garden to take advantage of early spring sunshine and unseasonable warm weather
A cartoon about garden seasons, hot weather, relaxation in gardens, suburban gardening
a292
Gardening cartoon – a cartoon about data-obsession and looking forward to spring
Garden cartoon.
Cartoon about obsessive data collection
Cartoon showing a gardener measuring the length of a bud on a tree and determining the progress of the seasons as a result.
This is a cartoon about people who feel a need to measure things as a way of feeling that they are in control of their lives and environment.
This cartoon isn’t a criticism of the data collecting urge. After all, where would we be without the people who do it? It’s due to them that we can predict what will happen in the future (The man in the cartoon is precisely predicting the time till the arrival of spring).
A cartoon about control freaks, creating order, psychological personality types.
a291
Gardening cartoon – garden seating cartoon
Garden cartoon – garden seating up a tree cartoon
Cartoon showing a garden seat high in the branches of a tree
There is a spiral staircase going round the trunk of the tree, providing access to the top of the tree
A cartoon that refers to the recent trend to construct aerial walkways or arboreal walkways through the upper branches of trees, allowing people to explore the tree canopy. Examples include the Xstrata Treetop Walkway in Kew Gardens, London.
The cartoon also refers to the tree houses built in trees by children (or their parents).
Part of the joke in the cartoon is that the two people sitting on a bench in the tree are old people rather than the young and agile people you’d expect.
A cartoon about garden seating, garden chairs, relaxing in the garden, suburban gardening.
a290
Garden flowers cartoon – looking at a snowdrop using a mirror
Spring garden flower cartoon – snowdrops in the garden
Cartoon showing a man in his garden studying snowdrops by looking at them from below by using a mirror on a stick
A cartoon about spring gardening, early spring garden flowers, flower appreciation, how to study snowdrops
a282
Gardening cartoon about cutting a branch from a tree – and forward planning
Garden tree cartoon – sawing a branch off a tree while sitting on the branch
Cartoon about the cliche of a man sawing a branch off a tree while sitting on the branch.
In the usual version of this cartoon cliche the man is sitting on the part of the branch which will fall to the ground when cut – a joke about human stupidity.
In this version of the cartoon the man has realised this danger and has sat on the part of the branch that will remain attached to the tree.
However, he’s overlooked the fact that his ladder was leaning on the branch and has fallen to the ground, stranding him on the stump of the branch high in the tree.
A cartoon about hubris, the law of unforeseen consequences, insufficient planning, foreword planning, flawed planning strategies, flaws in reasoning
a281
Garden pond cartoon – a mobile pond in a wheelbarrow
Garden pond cartoon – a garden pond in a wheelbarrow
Cartoon about unusual garden ponds
A moveable pond in a wheelbarrow – a pond that can by moved round the garden
A cartoon about creating a garden pond, novelty garden ponds, humorous garden ponds, uses for old garden tools and implements, unusual uses for wheelbarrows, novelty garden design
a280
Fruit growing cartoon – pear tree producing gluts of fruit in the autumn
Fruit gardening cartoon – a glut of fruit on a pear tree
Cartoon about the problem of gluts of seasonal food or the over abundance of seasonal crops
The gardener complaining that all of the fruit on a fruit tree arrives at once.
A cartoon about fruit gardening, vegetable gardens, harvesting fruit, pear trees, garden fruit, allotment gardening, autumn gardens, fall gardening, fruit picking.
a279
Gardening cartoon – you sometimes only notice trees when they’re in blossom
Gardening cartoon – how blossom imposes itself on your senses
Cartoon showing gardeners commenting on how plants can go unnoticed except when they are in flower
The gardener is saying that it’s amazing how a tree stands there unnoticed all year – then it comes into blossom and you can’t take your eyes off it.
A cartoon about blooms, flowers, colour in the garden, attention-seeking flowers, attractive blossom, cherry blossom time, flowering trees, summer gardens.
a278
Next door neighbour’s children’s toy in garden – cartoon
Gardening cartoon – children’s toy in garden
Cartoon showing a gardener finding a small spaceship in his garden
He is wondering whether it’s a real spaceship or a children’s toy spaceship from next door
The gardener is saying “Either the vegetable patch is being colonised by tiny aliens or next door’s kids have lost one of their toys.”
Part of the humour of this cartoon is that the gardener thinks that it may be a real alien spacecraft first and a children’s toy second.
A cartoon about children losing toys in gardens, alternative explanations for phenomena, neighbours, next door neighbours’ balls in garden.
a277
Innovative garden ornaments cartoon – Loch Ness monster sculpture
Gardening cartoon – Loch Ness monster cartoon
Cartoon showing a man putting a model of the Loch Ness monster onto his garden lawn.
The gardener’s wife is saying “Why can’t we just have gnomes like everyone else?”
Part of the humour of this cartoon is that the Loch Ness monster is composed of a series of humps that can be placed individually on the lawn, giving the impression that the creature is both above and below the lawn.
A cartoon about eccentric garden sculpture, humorous garden features, novelty garden ornaments, garden design, innovative garden sculptures
a276
Autumn garden cartoon – Indian summer gardening
Gardening cartoon – autumn heatwave cartoon
Cartoon showing a man raking autumn leaves on a very hot autumn day after a cold and miserable summer.
The gardener is saying “This is the first time this year that it’s been hot enough to garden in shorts.”
A cartoon about unseasonable weather, Indian summers (spells of very warm weather in autumn or fall)
a275
Hanging basket in front of front door – gardening cartoons
Hanging basket cartoon – gardening cartoon
Cartoon showing a hanging basket hanging in front of a door
The joke is that the hanging basket is too low and is blocking the doorway, but the man can’t quite work out what’s wrong
As well as being a straightforward cartoon about garden design and the pitfalls of garden design, this cartoon is a metaphor for the way that people often can’t tell what they are doing wrong (even though it may be staring them in the face).
a274
Gardening cartoon – a model of a tower crane to hang hanging baskets
Garden design cartoon – hanging basket cartoon
Cartoon showing a hanging basket in a garden, suspended from a scale model of a construction crane or tower crane.
The woman in the cartoon is saying “It’s dad’s way of moving into retirement gradually. He used to be a crane operator.”
The model of the crane in the garden is meant to illustrate the fact that garden features and garden decorations need not be limited to concrete or resin copies of classical statues. The structure of the crane here is meant to suggest modern sculpture of constructivist sculpture to some extent, as well as simple garden frameworks and trellises for plants to climb on.
A cartoon about retirement, changes in lifestyle as people get older, leisure activity in old age, retirement activities, keeping busy in retirement
a273
halloween lanterns in garden to scare cats – cartoon
Autumn gardening cartoon – halloween cartoon
Cartoon showing a gardener painting halloween lantern faces onto his prize pumpkins.
He is painting the halloween faces onto the pumpkins in an attempt to scare cats away so that they don’t damage his garden (such as by using his freshly dug seed beds as a cat toilet).
a272
Garden gate with health and safety notice on it – cartoon
Garden gate cartoon – garden design cartoon
Cartoon about health and safety in the garden
A warning sign on a garden gate similar to the type that are displayed on building sites and construction sites
The joke here is about the pervasiveness of health and safety culture, in which practically every human activity is judged to be hazardous.
The gardener is saying “The garden’s a dangerous place, what with its ponds and thorns – not to mention the power tools.”
Health and safety warning signs such as the one in the cartoon are, I assume, a defence against the current litigation culture. The fact that the signs are there proves that people have been warned of potential danger, thus placing responsibility for personal safety in the hands of the person who has been warned.
a271
Creepy crawlies on garden flowers cartoon
Garden insects cartoon
Cartoon about garden insects on flowers.
A gardener looking closely at a flower and noticing the tiny insects that are living on it that had been unnoticed until he examined the bloom closely.
The gardener is saying ” It’s wonderful how every spring I’m newly surprised by the incredible shapes and colours of the flowers in the garden – and of the insects that are hiding between their petals.”
A cartoon about garden wildlife, secret life in the garden, invertebrates, nature, natural gardening, organic gardening, eco-friendly gardening
a288
Frogs spawning in garden pond – garden gnomes cartoon
Garden wildlife cartoon and garden gnome cartoon
Cartoon of a garden pond that has garden gnomes round the edge holding coils of barbed wire in order to keep cats away from the pond
The garden gnomes are being used to protect the frogs and fish in the pond from the local cats.
Cats are a problem around garden ponds, especially in the frog spawning season.
Garden gnomes are normally holding fishing rods, spades, wheelbarrows or other gardening implements. Gnomes holding barbed wire is a novelty.
Part of the joke is that this particular type of garden gnome is actually useful rather than just being decorative.
a265
Gardening cartoon and obesity cartoon – fat man in the garden
Gardening cartoon and obesity cartoon – fat man in the garden
Cartoon of an overweight man looking at a plant – but he is too large to be able to see it over his large stomach
The obese man is saying “You know you need to lose weight when you can’t see your flowers anymore”
Ref: a264
»