Old Gnomish Homestead

The cave is unknown, and has been for eons. It is buried in the Spine, deep beyond where even the dwarves mine, and has the strongest magical protections afforded to it.
It is, truly, the last place you would expect to find such greenery.
The gnomes once had fantastic gardens and specialised in alchemy in order to unlock the secrets of the world; they still have many alchemists, but so much knowledge was lost with the Cataclysm, when the ground folded to swallow their kingdom and that of their halfling neighbours.
The cave is a testament to what was and never shall be again, then.
It stands wild now. It has a keeper, but she was never prone to gardening even in life; her spirit is hardly more proficient. Where the garden beds are is unclear except for the concentration of plants there, though they have certainly migrated as their seeds fell and sprouted elsewhere within.
The cottage is a simple affair as well, and better kept than the garden; two bedrooms, a living area, a kitchen. There is an outhouse, but it has not been used in eons. Spirits hardly need such amenities. It is simply decorated, with shelves that once contained herbs and wood lightened by a sun it has not seen in many, many centuries. And yet it stands, as if its neighbours did not fall when the world bent in half.
It is important to preserve the past.
The doors are small, fit for gnomes and little else; this one is simply carved but others of its ilk were more elaborately done. This was the hut of a simple alchemist, and is carved only with plants around the sides.
Gnomes have always liked to decorate, and to delineate purpose.
The roof is rounded and thatched; not a fashion used in gnomish settlements today, but today they do not live the same way. They live on the side of a mountain, in harsher territory. When this house was built it was in simpler times. In times where gardens were the norm, and cities the rarity.
A time when the gnomes had a kingdom to call their own.