Guerilla gardening, anyone?

[Freemartin]

So, the title pretty much sums it up. Does anyone have experience about guerilla/gangsta gardening? Spring is finally reaching this god-forsaken northern end of the Earth, and my fingers are kinda itching for some unauthorized sowing and planting. Any tips/stories?

PS. Sorry if the topic is off-limits. In that case, please mods remove the thread and scold me gently.

 

[Mach123]

I’m always out digging up stumps and all that this time of year. We have a small yard in our house at the beach and we’ve been here going on 3 years and I’m starting to get some stuff done on the yard to make it like our house. There was a pattern in the beds because they had a landscaper here when we bought it so I’ve been following along with that. Last week I got some trees taken out in the backyard and that’s inspired me. I’m digging the stumps out . We are going to put lilacs and forsythia back there. One great thing here is there are no bugs. When we lived in the woods, the noseeums were out this time of year. It made it almost impossible to be outside.

 

[Friday]

LOL... I’ve always just talked to people. The only places where I’ve run into Noooooooooooo (echo) ((echo)) (((echo))) are places already dealing with

- drought (and the city is deliberately xeroscaping (amongst other measures) to conserve water
- invasive plants / protected areas (city is trying to repair delicate and damaged ecologies)
- compost in vermin infested areas (more cat sanctuaries needed!) Slums are the saddest of these areas, as it just means more kids living with/being attacked by rats, as the slumlords aren’t going to do anything about the vermin.
- when a seemingly “empty” area is actually in active use (empty lot a ballpark in spring/fall, above ground pool in summer, emergency parking in winter).

I usually start with neighbors and progress onto more official avenues.

So it’s almost the opposite of GG? Except that, yeah. Usually -as long as I don’t have to agree to a schedule of maintenance, it’s something I actively go about doing wherever I live.

 

[coraxxx]

I removed a few cobblestones and planted mixes of wild flowers in these interstices. One by one, in moments no one was passing by. So you have little bouquets in random places in the city. Changed the sand, the species… that was quite pleasant. I’d like to do something alike in the area I’m in.

 

[Freemartin]

I removed a few cobblestones and planted mixes of wild flowers in these interstices. One by one, in moments no one was passing by. So you have little bouquets in random places in the city. Changed the sand, the species… that was quite pleasant. I’d like to do something alike in the area I’m in.

Wow, sounds really cool! Any pics you could share?

 

[coraxxx]

Wow, sounds really cool! Any pics you could share?

Ah, this is something I should have done… I really tend not to take pictures of things that really are close to me strangely. Now I feel like I should do it more often. But it’s really easy to do and then you see the bees around! Very satisfying <3

 

[Freemartin]

So, did you plant the flowers as seedlings or did you sow them as seeds? (Sorry, severely lacking in horticultural vocab...) What kinds of flowers were they? Did you put some extra soil? Fertilizers? Tell me everything!

 

[Mach123]

I didn’t really understand what you meant because it’s not clandestine for me to be gardening. I did grow mushrooms for a time indoors in secret. That was a real guerrilla operation, spec ops. I would love to do that again, but I haven’t the energy. Not if I have to hide it or argue about it. Good luck though!

 

[coraxxx]

So, did you plant the flowers as seedlings or did you sow them as seeds? (Sorry, severely lacking in horticultural vocab...) What kinds of flowers were they? Did you put some extra soil? Fertilizers? Tell me everything!

I planted the seeds of local species with soil I brought from another garden and a forest nearby. So no fertilizers. The most complicated part is choosing the right spot for dogs not to pee or shit on it and not getting caught by the cops when you're taking the pavement out. It's silly but you can get a fine for it. And on vague terrains technically it's squatting but no one watches it.

What's funny is to wait for the moment everyone starts to like the plants and take care of it, more or less. Then they don't do enforcement anymore.

For the mushrooms and stuff... There are a few spots left by former squatters in a specific train station next to my home city lol. A very well guarded secret!

 

[Freemartin]

Did some sowing with da pups today. We’ll see...

 

[Mach123]

I moved my rose bushes from the back yard and got some of the scratching which is horrendous. It almost makes me think there is some kind of poison in the thorns, but then my skin is not how it used to be. There were four of them in the back yard and when I dug them out, no mean feat, I ended up with about 10 plants, all of which I had to plant out front because, I can't "kill any of my babies", which makes me a poor gardener. I'm not good at thinning out. I hope some of them die, but they won't, because I have a terrible green thumb which is like being handy, a curse. I watched on you tube how they need to be managed and I put them up against a fence which will have to serve as a low trellis. They have to be tied and pruned and made to behave. Husbandry. Not my thing. : ) I'm digging out tree stumps back there. I have a major excavation going.

 

[Mee]

I used to do a bit of guerrilla gardening .
Wildflower seeds are good because they need nothing else - Just poor soil ( a crack or a tree planter or a bit of waste land) a bit of water and someone wanting to sow them.
Sometimes the bargain shops here sell very cheap fruit trees - seriously cheap. When I was more physically able I’ve planted a few of them in low income housing areas in the hope some day a family will be pleased for the pretty tree than also is provident near them.