Guerilla Gardening

Guerilla gardening is an underground movement that has fast been gaining ground (please excuse the pun) in London. Fed up with seeing his local spaces full of dying plants, and eager to put his green fingers to use, Richanrd Reynolds founded the guerilla gardening movement in the UK.

What he and his growing band of midnight horticulturalists do is tend, weed and replant council-owned land such as roundabouts and flowerbeds, usually on a miniscule budget. Technically it is illegal, vandalism, but as one council has already donated money (anonymously) towards the purchase of plants, it seems unlikely that he will ever end up in court.

Certainly the residents of the places the guerillas work in would have something to say about it if he did - most if not all really appreciate the work his army put in, and then contribute their part by watering and continuing to weed.

Perhaps all this is the job of the council, and the resort to "vandalism" reflects a sad state of affairs. However, with so many pressures on their budgets, landscaping and gardening cannot be a top priority for councils. With the guerillas doing it for free, and the residents continuing the work, the community is brought closer together, and everyone can enjoy a more pleasant, greener, environment. Surely that's not a bad thing?

Guerilla Gardening to find out more, make a donation or enlist as a troop.