The organisers of the Chelsea Flower Show are fighting a rear-guard action to prevent gnomes and other outbreaks of “bad taste” changing the atmosphere of the event.

Garden gnomes have, controversially, long been banned from the show on the ground that they are tacky and display poor taste. This year, however, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which runs the show, suspects that several exhibitors have attempted to circumvent the spirit of the rule, if not the letter.

A bare-bottomed gnome was spotted in one exhibitor’s van and another was under investigation after bringing a statue of an Orc-like “gnome hunter”, complete with gnome heads dangling from its belt, and another statue of a gnome being attacked by a larger imaginary creature. A third exhibitor was ordered to remove a statue of a bare-breasted warrior woman, which the RHS described as “pretty undesirable”. However, a statue of a reclining man with an “in-your-face scrotum” has been permitted.

Bob Sweet, of the RHS, said the “warrior with big boobs” was “very tasteless, and would put people off”, whereas the virtually naked male statue was deemed after inspection to be “quite artistic”.

He and colleagues at the RHS were considering yesterday whether the bronze statues of gnome hunters should be thrown out of the show.

David Goode, who displayed the “gnome hunter” statues, remained hopeful that they would be allowed to remain in the show. “The rule is no garden gnomes, not no garden-gnome hunters,” he protested. “We thought it would be appropriate to have a gnome-hunter sorting out any gnomes at Chelsea. I think the antigarden gnome policy applies to those painted gnomes. I don’t think it applies to bronze sculptures.”

Mr Sweet said that Russell Bowlby, of Flights of Fancy, another exhibitor, was suspected of attempting to introduce “gnome houses” into the show, which opens next week. “We’ve had some very, very serious conversations with this exhibitor. He said they were garden buildings. We suspected they were gnome houses – he’s assured us they aren’t. We had a suspicion they were going to be displayed with gnomes.

“We think garden gnomes are rather gaudy. We have artistic things and nice taste in this show. It’s just not suitable for gnomes.”

Mr Sweet’s suspicions deepened when the gnome was found in the front seat of Mr Bowlby’s van. Mr Bowlby insisted that the small-scale homes he will show are garden houses for children. He said: “We’ve already had a lot of trouble with our stand. We’ve agreed to remove a pirate ship from display. I don’t want to get kicked out of Chelsea.”

The recent warm spell and weeks of dry conditions through April have meant that the flowers on display will be more representative of mid-June gardens than of May. Rose displays are expected to be among the best ever seen at Chelsea. Plants such as wistaria and iris are in short supply because most have already flowered, but several plants rarely seen at Chelsea because they flower too late are now in bloom.

Jekka McVicar, who displays organically grown herbs, said: “Last year I was two weeks behind with my plants. This year I’m four weeks ahead. I’ve never had so much in flower at Chelsea.” Christine Howard, of Howards Nurseries, said: “Normally we are putting irises in greenhouses to force them to be ready for Chelsea. This year we had to fill a cold store to hold them back.”

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