Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The First Sunflowers of Summer
Did you plant any for Guerilla Gardening International Sunflower Day? Some are beginning to show their lovely heads. Looking forward to the display in Pemberton Road, some are poking their heads up from the Nursery garden too.
Sadly though, there are weird people who vandalise the flowers. Pemberton Road gardeners have already lost one sunflower head and someone pulled a whole flowering mini sunflower out of the Warham Community Garden. Not sure there's much we can do about such selfishness and it may mean that some of us decide not to plant them in public spaces in the future which is a shame as they are so much fun but let's enjoy them and maybe share any snaps of them
Tags for Forum Posts: garden theft, guerilla gardening, plant theft, sunflowers
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
-
Michael (not me!) at the top of Warham planted around the street tree outside of his house this year as usual, but they were sprayed as part of the weed control programme - great shame.
-
Permalink Reply by Liz on
-
Yes, something similar happened in Pemberton.That's the problem with doing the spraying so late. Something that could be raised with Veolia.
I've seen a suggestion from guerilla gardeners that people who garden at pavement level put up little plaques along the lines of 'Dedicated to A.N Other' - sprayers and council workers spot them and often leave the patches alone -doesn't have to be a real person you know, could be a local historical figure (The Charlotte Riddell memorial sunflowers?) or someone you admire whose name isn't too well known (The Elizabeth Heyrick garden)
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
-
I'm wondering. Do guerilla gardeners see something unprincipled in a deal with local councils to have a discreet small official badge?
"We're guerrilla gardeners. We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
-
-
I doubt it but I think most people who want to garden their patch can't and don't want to wait for someone on high to pronounce upon their patch of sunflowers. If you just want to put some nasturtiums in a patch of dirt, you don't want to wait for a visit and a decision from an overworked and understaffed body of council officers.
I was lucky in that a local cllr and a member of neighbourhood management helped me with my project but what most people ask me now is 'who do I ask if I want to street garden/get community planters/adopt a local flower bed'...and do you know, I don't know who I can direct them to now, although I suggest they contact their councillor in case they know.
Now if there was a designated person, an officer for blooming boulevards if you like, who you could just ring and tell about the petunias in the neglected flower bed who'd then dispatch a 'badge' it would be useful, but as many guerilla gardeners will tell you, they are often met with a 'jobsworth' 'can't do that here' attitude by officials - there's a famous roundabout in S London that had all sorts of problems, even while a councillor was taking credit for how nice it looked-so sometimes its just easier to get on with it and maybe use a little ingenuity to warn the overzealous weed sprayers to leave their little patch alone.
-
Permalink Reply by John D on
-
I agree that the whole ethos of the guerilla gardeners' movement would reject any direction from above. Couldn't the guerilla movement get together and design a badge or notice and produce them themselves, advising Veolia of their significance ?
Or would that be like the Anarchists' Steering Committee ? :-)
-
-
John and Liz, I accept the logic in your points. At my most pessimistic I too fear that residents' phonecalls could meet the 'jobsworth' attitude Liz describes.
On the other hand, I don't see Vancouver's guidelines as completely over-bureaucratic. In any town or city, officials do have to worry about tree roots and cables. Not everyone is sensible about what they plant and there are plenty of invasive plants that neighbours won't thank you for. I also respect the professional knowledge of our Parks staff.
There are also people who are not above enclosing and planting on a strip or small corner of public land, not just to beautify it, but to base a future legal claim. Such 'encroachment' may be rare. As may the other problems. But rare or not, they can happen.
Anarchism comes in lots of varieties, John. And it's a long time since I read Peter Kropotkin. But perhaps Mutual Aid, Reciprocity and Voluntary Agreements are not a bad framework for planting flowers in the streets.
After all, if council lawyers can come up with workable agreements for firms to sponsor roundabouts and planters, I'm sure they can do the same for resident gardeners.
For local councils there's a further issue: co-production. Staff who still don't know what it means need to learn - urgently.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
-
-
I'm very disappointed to hear about the 'weeding' of flowers residents have sown. It's the worst possible outcome.
Which is why two years ago I suggested people should approach the Council for an agreement to garden a plot - or even the ground round some trees.
Yes, I know, it's also something where Council staff could have taken the initiative. And I have suggested that too <sigh>. (The first time was in 2004 when Zena and I came back from a trip to Vancouver and learned about their Blooming Boulevards.)
As a so-called "backbench" councillor it's the exception when "cabinet" members or officers listen to anything I suggest. But residents can make this happen; if they choose to use their collective strength.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
-
-
@ Michael Wonder if you could mention to Michael (not you!) if he's interested in popping anything into the planters. (this reply seems to have wandered from where it was supposed to be)
I'm a big fan, in fact I was inspired to start putting things in buckets and paint pots by his work (see below). You can create a garden anywhere as you can see:
-
Permalink Reply by JulieB on
-
Beautiful photograph - brightened up a dull evening, thank you Liz.
I'm sorry to hear some flowers have been vandalised - how mean spirited.
-
-
We have a plant thief as well now. Not just taking the flowers but pulling up the whole plants. I was warned that this could happen and it is a problem that blights street gardening everywhere but still it's bloody annoying.
I think we just have to outgarden them. They seem to have targeted things like fuchsias, so maybe the trick is to think of less classic plants that aren't so easy to pull up and walk away with. Any gardeners out there who have ideas (or plants/seeds) let me know!
-
Permalink Reply by Mr Growbag on
-
Interplant thievable stuff with spiny plants?
-
-
Steve King and Pam Sladek found this years ago in their guerrilla-gardened plot on Ferry Lane - mentioned before. They tackled it partly by simple perseverance; but mainly by switching to shrubs with deep roots.
Last year I saw this plaintive notice from the Bowes Park Community Association who'd planted flowers on a grass verge near Finsbury Gardens.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
