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May
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Guerrilla Gardening: What the cool gardeners are doing these days

Published by Hanna | Filed Under: Interesting, Eh?
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I was listening to NPR this morning and they had a piece on guerrilla gardening. This is actually not the first time I have heard about guerrilla gardening. Over at YGG, a few people have done some guerrilla gardening on their own and have talked about their experience.

It’s a fun concept and one that I have been wanting to do. Basically, guerrilla gardening is random acts of gardening without permission from the land’s owners. To be fair, most of the acts are done on abandoned or derelict properties. It is a way to beautify illegally. And since I already have an illegal garden (I promise I will explain that someday), the thought of doing even more illegal gardening is just cool.

I have my eye on a spot and had hoped to get my start with it, but life and the rain has kept me from getting there. The spot I have been eyeing actually was a flower bed at one time in front of an old historical building. I think whoever the caretaker was is unable to care for the place anymore, but it breaks my heart to see such a venerable old building with a bed of quackgrass out front. I thought it might be nice to clear out the bed and plant some flowers.

Once I get that done, I am thinking I need to do something a little more ambitious. I don’t know what yet, but I am going to keep my eye out.

When I lived in Cincy, I lived in a house in the middle of a bad neighborhood. The houses were falling apart and the yards were filled with more trash than plants. I rented my house, but I still cleared the yard out and created a mishmash garden that had things planted all in the wrong spots. But that garden was one of my favorite gardens as I received many comments on how nice it was to see flowers growing in the neighborhood. It was my first lesson in how flowers seem to cheer no matter where they are. That’s what guerrilla gardening is all about.

Guerrilla gardeners tend to work in groups. I would love to form a group here in Cleveland or if there is already one, I would like to join. This is something I should look into.


Published by Hanna on May 15th, 2006
Filed Under Interesting, Eh? | Permalink
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5 Responses to “Guerrilla Gardening: What the cool gardeners are doing these days”

  1. I really want to know about this illegal garden you already have… :) Just curious.

    [Reply]

  2. First season for me to guerilla garden. Have sites and plan.42 yr old single guy in tremont. Work as wine steward downtown.

    [Reply]

  3. Guerrilla gardening is really an interesting subject. If you are simply trying to help a neighbor or clean up a neighborhood than its hard to see the harm in it. Did you ever get that garden planted?

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  4. I am very much interested in guerilla gardening in Cleveland as well. We are from Parma, OH. If anyone would like to get together for a seed bombing run or a bit of greening of the streets of Cleveland- shoot me off an email- 11fowler29@gmail.com

    [Reply]

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