Showing posts with label guerrilla garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guerrilla garden. Show all posts

Thursday, 28 May 2009

In which I shall not mention that guerrillas sounds an awful lot like gorillas

Last year we had plans for a guerilla garden on a roadside verge. Most of the plants died in the great blackfly attack of 2008 and we didn't have anything left to garden with. Then we moved away from that patch.

We've been scouting out a new one for a while now. And it think we found the perfect spot. Torquay is littered with disused water fountains and although I'd rather they where still used to provide a free drink most off them just end up being... littered.

Through the years most of them have been topped up with concrete but this one is special. Judging from the state of it it looks like the leaves from the tree above fell in and created soil. Or perhaps someone dumped a load in at one point. Either way it has worms and soil but not much growing.

Enter Stephen and Clare. We popped down with a tape measure, a compass, a camera and a note pad. We made a diagram of the area and noted how much light it got. Discussing it over cake we decided we wanted to go for natives and shade tolerant plants.

We decided on red campion, primrose and wood sorrel. The campion will hopefully grow tall, the sorrel will hopefully grow and cover the soil a bit more and the primrose will do... whatever primroses do.

While we were waiting for Royal Mail to deliver our plants we popped down to clear the area. I would have lived to have got rid of that brick and swept away the leaves but the brick was heavy or I'm weak. Either way it's still there.

We decided to get rid of the weeds by cutting out a piece of cardboard to the shape of the fountain and cover it with compost. Then we placed a little sign (which has since been nicked) to say who we are and what the garden is for.

Today the exciting bit happened. Our plants arrived. After rush hour we went to the garden with our tools, water and the baby plants. I positioned them gracefully and artistically. Stephen, ever the mathematician, insisted on symmetry.

We dug through the top layer of compost and the card. This disturbed more worms than I'd ever seen in such a small place. It really was an encouraging happy sight. Especially for balcony gardeners like us.

We put the plants in without much fuss, only a supportive shout from the other side of the road, and called it a day. I admit that they don't look too impressive yet but plants grow and gardens look better with time and love. We'll give it plenty of both.


Edit: To find our garden.... We're on the corner of Falkland Rd and the Kings Drive. If you come out of Torre Abbey by the main gate look left and you will see us.

Monday, 28 July 2008

No gardening today...

Today we were supposed to start work on the Guerrilla Garden but Torquay is suffering from a light (ahem) amount of rain right now. With storms forecast.

This morning though we woke up to a bit of a surprise. The plants for the Guerrilla garden are currently living on our windowsill. It’s a mass of green. I was looking to see what the weather was like and… no? A little closer… no! Closer still… yes! Flowers!

I explained to Stephen who, by this point, was baffled by his girlfriend leaping out of bed excitedly. And also by the fact that he was awake because it was still early.

Two of our cornflowers now have flowers with more on the way. And only yesterday Stephens Dad was pointing out that his had come out already and ours hadn’t. This picture was taken before the deluge. Hopefully they will be outside soon.

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

Subversive Substation


Although we are planning a proper Guerrilla Garden in Torquay we haven’t quite got round to it yet. Even so the lure of rebellious gardening was strong and luckily we were given a supply of seed bombs on our last visit to Urbis.

The site we chose wasn’t barren. It is an overgrown spot of grass next to a school and in front of an electricity substation. We thought it could do with a little colour. There aren’t very many patches suitable for bombing in Torquay – almost everything is a hotel.

My trick was to smash the bombs on the school’s fence and have the bomb rain down on the gap between it and the substation’s fence (yes, there is a fence, four inches and another fence). Stephen wanted to put his around the side of the patch.

We did get caught by a woman walking past. I smiled at her but I guessed by her expression of disapproval that she wouldn’t take the ‘I’m just gardening’ excuse well, she scurried along before I could give it anyway.

Are we just gardening? When we got in Stephen argued with his Dad for a couple of seconds about whether it is vandalism or beautification. I think it’s both.

Sunday, 13 July 2008

Plant Shopping and New Life Starting

Near where we live is a place called Cockington. It was in the Domesday book, it hasn't changed in forever, it is a very special place. Stephen used to volunteer there in his pre-employed days, planting trees, herding cows, being Devonian all over.

As a crafter what excites me most about Cockington is the craft workshops. The glass and the lady who makes fabric flowers being two of my favourites. As a gardener well there are rare trees, sensory gardens, rose gardens, community gardens, the organic garden and Plants for sale!

Yesterday we bought some lavender for the (purple) Guerrilla Garden and some Thyme because I don’t have a plant of my own here.

With any luck we are hoping to plant the Guerrilla Garden next weekend and we are on the hunt for seed bomb sites.

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

A Masters in seed bombing

Do not take lightly small good deeds,
Believing that they can hardly help:
For drops of water one by one
In time can fill a giant pot.
from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish

Indeed! This time I took Stephen seed bombing. And we made lots of bombs. We spent the day in quiet meditation and learning about Buddhism at the Manchester Buddhist Center. I'm including a link because even if you don't want to take a class the book shop and vegan cafe are unmissable. Try the chocolate cake. And take a class, they are good. In the evening it was back to Urbis for a good old fashioned seed bomb.

I'd like to note at this point that the impressively arty pictures are not taken by me. That is why I am in some of them.

Mixing the seed bombs went well. Stephen drowned his batch but we managed to make some good ones out of it. We where given some of the bombs to take home. Home being, as of this time next week, Torquay. Transporting them back from Urbis was a challenge, they glooped together and needed re-rolling when we got home. Although Stephen went home yesterday the seed bombs didn't go with him. Instead I'll take them when I move (!!!!!) down next week.

So on with the pictures....


Isn't Manchester beautiful? I'll really miss this place, the people and the vegan chocolate cake. I love it. And that's why I bomb it.


Thursday, 26 June 2008

Cornflower continuation...

“Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:- ‘Oh, how beautiful!’ and sitting in the shade.”
— Rudyard Kipling
The cornflower grows apace, and tries to peer round the window frame:

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Colouring outside the lines


So today Kelsie and I went to Urbis. Oh yes. For the seed bombing.

We had a quick tour around the gallery. Quick because it was only us two and we'd seen it before but here are the highlights from this visit.

Proving that you can grow something in the city are these lovely strawberries and tomatoes. They weren't there the first few times I viewed the gallery and are there now so I assume that they grew there. I really do want to pick and eat one. Or I wish someone would.

Yes, I do love strawberries but I also think it's such a shame that they are just left on the plant until they are rotten. You can see the life cycle of the fruit here. The green berry , followed by the red berry, followed by the old one in the back. I suppose that should worry me about the gallery at Urbis. It is just a gallery. The plants are just there to be looked at. But considering I have been inspired to garden I imagine someone else has. And the staff lovingly prop up the wilting ones. But I do wish someone would eat that strawberry...

But by far my favorite bit of the gallery at Urbis is the insane gadgets. From the flowerboxes to the balcony post to this. A tree fed by a drip.

After we had a look at the plants it was time to move on to the seed bomb making. Kelsie and I got to work chucking together the ingredients. Clay, compost, seeds, water. Then we rolled them up into little balls. He he. Because the bombs need 24 hours to dry out. We left them for the next group and took out some that had already been made. Our first target was just outside Victoria station. We waited for the tram to go past and attacked, throwing our bombs over the railings.

Then we moved on to the next site. And look at what a wasteland it was. Luckily we had plenty of bombs. So we emptied out our bag of bombs. With any luck the place will bloom with poppies and wildflowers. If it does, it will be so brilliant. And I think, one day I'll make more bombs.

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Naughty, naughty

Hay, what are you doing next week? I'm seed bombing in Manchester!

Kelsie (the cousin of Urbis sunflower fame) and I are going into Manchester after school (her school) getting some nice veggie food and then heading down to Urbis for a seed bombing thing. From what I can remember from the leaflet that I have since lost there are seven seed bombing events the first of which is on this Sunday.

We're going to be going to the Tuesday one and I may be able to drag Stephen to the one on the 29th if we can manage to get away from the Buddhists in time (and he wants to, of course [I must try to be less controlling]) . It's £3 and you get a look round, a crash course in bomb making and then boom!

I can't find anything on the website about it but if you ring or email nice people at the tours they should tell you all about it.

With any luck I'll even have a new cable for my camera by then. So if you can't make one you can at least look at the pictures.

Edit: seed bombing is now listed on the tour page:
"The events will be taking place of the following dates from 5-6pm Sunday 22 June, Tuesday 24 June, Thursday 26 June, Sunday 29 June , Tuesday 1 July, Thursday 3 July , Sunday 6 July"

Sunday, 15 June 2008

Basil breaks forth

“Unemployment is capitalism’s way of getting you to plant a garden.”
— Orson Scott Card
The cornflower continues to grow at about a centimetre a day, and meanwhile the basil and aubrietia have emerged:



Thursday, 12 June 2008

Cornflower Cometh

Testing, testing, is this thing on? Stephen/Safalra (Clare’s boyfriend) here, making my first ever blog post (I am the world’s most technophobic web developer).

“Gardens, scholars say, are the first sign of commitment to a community. When people plant corn they are saying, let’s stay here. And by their connection to the land, they are connected to one another.”
— Anne Raver
The cornflower has sprouted. Where yesterday there was virgin soil, now tiny shoots have burst forth. Witness:

Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Rebellion begins at home

Last Friday I walked a very long way in very long grass. Alright, if you look on a map it does seem like a short distance but my poor itchy legs clearly disagree with that. But at the end of the long way was a garden center. We bought some seeds for the Guerrilla Garden. To protect the seedlings from the council mower (yeah right) We thought that we would plant them in those little biodegradable pots and transplant them later when it was more obviously looking like a garden.

So we did. Now the other half will have to fill in the spellings of the plants but we got one as sort of a ground cover, some red basil and some cornflowers because at some point our goal was to plant wildflowers before it morphed into masses of purple.

They are currently in residence on his windowsill with me reminding him to water.

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

The Utter Pointlessness of Browsing Bulbs

I'm going to have to talk to the garden powers-that-be before I make any orders but I want:

Alliums are insane, pretty and purple. I aspire to be all these things. Dad's garden would benefit from a couple of grapefruit sized gigantium or, if I was to be sensible, firmament would do well too. I'd like to see hollandicum in the guerrilla garden eventually (native no but purple yes) but shall have to talk to my partner in crime. I also adore cristopii.

Narcissus are almost guaranteed, I am English after all. They are also just for me as I can grow them in a container in my as-yet-unmaterialised living space. I may illicitly pop some in planters around Manchester too. Spread the love. My gardening note book has "daffodils - spellbinder" scribbled down but I don't know where I came up with that. Or why my dyslexia turned it into dandelions first. (I can tell the difference, I swear) I do lean towards the red and the white. Take romance or Doctor Hugh for example (or a shopping list)

I'm also hoping to plant up some snowdrops indoors so I can experience the seasons without leaving the computer.