Monday, May 5, 2008

Guerrilla gardening

For those of you who don't know, guerrilla gardening is a bit of a rogue sport. You plant seeds, plants, and can even landscape areas that are neglected, abandoned, or just an eyesore. I think it's considered a form of passive protest, but I really see it more as a way to beautify our environment.

Here in suburbia, I find it immaculate, boring landscaping to be standard. If you don't have a 2', weeping evergreen surrounded by dyed red mulch, tightly, poorly pruned Ilex, and leggy nandina, you're not conforming and people stop to watch you work. What seems to also be standard are naked sides, rubbish strewn sides to office buildings and corner lots that are empty and weedy, waiting for future development.

My gardens happen to be exactly that. I don't have a 'yard', unlike a majority of my neighbors, and I can sometimes barely resist running across the street in the middle of the night to plant something interesting. So far, I've been able to resist, but there are a few places that I walk by that aren't so resistable.

Here's a rose I planted on the trashy, blank side of a doctor's office about a year ago. I went to take pictures yesterday for an article, and found that the rose is getting ready to bloom! It's in a place the landscapers probably don't even notice, but I always get an easy glimpse of it from the sidewalk.


5 comments:

hy said...

i LOVE it!!
i'm going to have to plan some attacks now!

Unknown said...

I love your little rose plant that's ready to bloom. You know that some tired person leaving the office saw it and it brightened their day.

I tried guerilla gardening with some morning glory seeds -- flung them far and wide near where I live when I first moved in. The following week, I realized that this area has a service tend their gardening. The gardeners pulled up my morning glory seedlings! I was bummed.

I have seen some bluebonnets (I'm in Texas) on an empty lot not too far from here. I think they need a splash of yellow and pink to really call attention to themselves! :) (Planning next guerilla gardening attack now.)

Rosebud Collection said...

What a cute idea...Love the little rose bush..No matter what I do, it won't grow..sprinkled wildflower seeds all around and nothing..will try again this year.

Tatyana said...

Hehehe my mum does the same thing, guerilla gardening. She'll grab mature marigold flowers, and once the seeds dry she goes on a mission to marigol-ify the neighborhood. Although when she plants them near our building the super always pulls them out. Ah well.

but the gesture's sweet, right? :P

Briannuh said...

I love the idea of Guerrilla gardening! I've been to a workshop on it, and it was spectacular. Hope all your gardening efforts succeed! :)