Guerrilla Gardening Gaining Ground
By Vanessa Richins
There’s a new style of gardening that is secretly being practiced throughout the country.
Nicknamed “guerrilla gardening”, it is the practice of stealth planting to beautify your community.
Planting in places that don’t belong to you is illegal in many areas (so be careful if you decide to participate and find out the local ordinances!), but that doesn’t stop everyone from trying to make the world a better place through plants. Treehugger.com suggests these three rules to remember:
1) Use only land that is unused or unwanted.
2) Leave the land in better condition than when you found it
3) You’ll need to use plants that are hardy, low maintenance and that have a high success rate if you want anyone to sit up and take notice.
Read all about it at GuerillaGardening.org. As their website says, “This blog began as a record of my illicit cultivation around London. It is now a growing arsenal for anyone interested in the war against the neglect of public space and has become a meeting place for guerrilla gardeners around the world.”
The pages are filled with wonderful pictures of their exploits. There is also now a book - On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries
In Charleston, South Carolina, A New Leaf Studio is throwing a “Guerrilla Gardening Party” as part of the Charleston Garden Festival. As Marketwatch.com reports, “A New Leaf Studio Owner Annie Mueller is pioneering the Guerrilla Gardening concept in Charleston, which encourages clients to beautify their surroundings by spraying a packet of seeds in a part of their community that could use some “greening up.”
I am picking up some pretty flower seeds from Freecycle this week. I may just have fun and sprinkle them somewhere unused.
Have any of you ever practiced guerrilla gardening?
October 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Have any of you ever practiced guerrilla gardening?
Only at my parents’ house. I go over there whenever I’m bored and do what their garden needs…without asking them first. They have a mow and blow “gardener” who scalps their lawn and shaves all their shrubs into cubes. I come along and do my best to counteract the mow and blow “gardening.”
October 4th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I LOVE this concept! I have been ‘collecting’ guerilla gardens for a couple of summers now. I love finding a tiny garden tucked into an unused urban space.
The only thing I don’t care for is when people take this out to national parks. Seeing people scatter seeeds in an area devoted to native plants just irritates me no end. I’ve also spent a few summers trying to help eradicate vinca from a nearby provincial park in Ontario, and the number of non-native species people try to plant there is mind-boggling. Harmful, too- the vinca is crowding out native plants which Monarch butterflies depend upon. Guerilla gardening practiced in the city is my favourite form of civic beautification, though, and I would love to see much more if it taking place.
October 4th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
We’re doing it in Los Angeles. We’ve actually had a lot of attention lately and it’s sparked interest in so many local communities here. We’ve been so excited to get people started on their own gardens.
Check us out at:
http://www.laguerrillagardening.org
October 5th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I have an uncle who has been doing this for over 50 years in the UK. Only he limits his guerilla gardening to planting acorns.
I also worry about non indigenous seeds being scattered in the countryside - but to bring life to deserted urban wastelands is a fantastic idea.
October 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
guerrilla gardening? never heard of it but it sure does sound fun. Thanks for the info. I may have to get a group together and try some of this. Once again thanks.