Posts Tagged ‘guerrilla gardening’

Several months ago, I posted about the sunflowers in Dupont.  Little did I know that the sunflowers that appear every June are probably part of a larger effort – International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day.  I’ve noticed a proliferation of sunflowers throughout the city.  While they don’t really add much “value” to the city  (as one person mentioned on Prince of Petworth), the phsychic value is well worth it!  Here’s some photos of sunflowers throughout Dupont.  

John Bentley Mays has an advanced review of the book City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing by Lorraine Johnson (Greystone Books, $19.95) “Drawing on her extensive practical experience in Toronto and that of many other urban growers throughout North America and beyond, she offers a wealth of handy information about sowing, reaping and foraging in likely and unlikely places. I’m talking about backyards, but also front yards, vacant lots and windy tower rooftops. Allotment gardens in public parks and balconies and sunny windows, but also weedy laneways and the derelict margins of railway lines.” As an urban planner and designer, I am always thinking about ways we can integrate “green infrastructure” into the landscape.  It’s been interesting to see the progression from “landscape as object” to “landscape as productive contributor to society.”  I think this is a positive step, and while edible landscapes may not work everywhere, when possible,

There’s someone in the Dupont neighborhood (or several of you) – and I don’t know who you are – but you brighten my mornings from June through August each summer.  I take one of the S busses downtown from Columbia Heights, and when I step off at 16th and P, there’s a great patch of sunflowers waiting to greet me. You’ve hit other spots in the neighborhood as well – walking down 18th street (before all the construction), you’ve planted a bed of sunflowers in the tree well in front of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  I love the different varieties – some small, some large. I don’t know who you are, but thank you!

Welcome back, Prince of Petworth readers. Given the recent surge of interest in urban gardening (where to, how to, when to, etc.) the great Dan Silverman afforded me the opportunity to be a guest contributor to his blog. This is week 3 of 8 scheduled guest posts. So you’ve made your way here. First and foremost, this is a blog about all things urban as they relate to gardening and food systems. From time to time, I’ll discuss things such as farmland preservation, but for the most part, it’s all about the city. I focus on a few main areas: Do It Yourself (as a young apartment dweller, I had to learn quickly how to grow things with limited space and budget); Policy and Planning (this is where my urban planning degree – and google skills – come in handy!); and feature articles, where I explore everything from guerrilla gardening,

This is Steve and Phil’s garden, located on the east side of Dupont Circle, where P Street and Massachusetts Avenue meet.  They’ve planted a variety of edible landscaping – including sage, rosemary, and chives – as well as ornamentals. Steve and Phil have a sign noting that the garden is for everyone to enjoy, as well as a smaller placard, stating the date and type of damage done to the garden (for example, the sign said something along the lines of “4/16, plants trampled”)  This seems a good system of “policing,” especially since the garden is in such a highly-trafficked area. I am confused, however, that the sign says “please do not pick flowers.”  It would seem, in such a public place, on (presumably) public land, that the garden keepers would want everyone to enjoy the herbs, flowers, and produce.  Last year, as a colleague and I were wakling by

Stephanie Dearing writes a fantastic article in the Digital Journal that asks a very pressing question:  When does guerilla gardening move from being a political statement and enter into the realm of vandalism?  I suggest you check out her article. which tells the tale of students who installed 20 garden beds in front of the library at their British Columbia university. The University promptly destroyed the beds and cried “vandalism” to the dismay of students.  From the article: Generally speaking, guerrilla gardening is a way to make a political statement. The activitiy is generally considered illegal, by dint of municipal by-laws as well as land ownership systems although every municipality is different. In Europe, particularly parts of Germany, the response to guerrilla gardening is quite different than in North America. In Essen, guerrilla gardeners are encouraged to take on garden plots in public space. Detroit, Michigan has become an urban

Guerrilla gardening isn’t just an environmental act, it’s a political statement.  Richard Reynolds, a guerrilla gardener from the UK, runs guerillagardening.org, a resource for those interested in this form of activism. I thought some of these ideas were fantastic – I really want to try the “seed bomb,” – while others, such as Pete Dungey’s pothole gardens seem a bit dangerous.  I’d love to try a pothole garden on a sidewalk or other cracked surface, but I wouldn’t want to do it on a busy street.  Nevertheless, this site is a must-read for anyone interested in gardening as a political act.