If planting flowers at 2 AM under the cover of darkness sounds like a great time, check out Richard Reynold's radical approach to beautifying neglected green space: Guerilla Gardening!
Reynolds started his blog out of the U.K. in 2004 as...a record of [his] illicit cultivation around London. It is now also a growing arsenal for anyone interested in the war against neglect and scarcity of public space as a place to grow things, be they beautiful, tasty (or both!)
We can get behind that!
The site includes Community links to happenings around the globe, including Massachusetts as well as updates about global events. May 1st is the third annual International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day. Facebook provides details as: The third annual event for guerrilla gardeners around the world to get out there and sow sunflower seeds in their neighbourhood. All you need are the seeds, something to poke a hole 2cm in the ground and a bit of imagination.
Launched by the Brussels' Farmers in 2007 and championed by Guerilla Gardening, this year should be a bigger planting event than ever! More people are feeling the urge to make a positive contribution to their local environment and have some fun at the same time.
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a beacon of the potential in our land. Not only do they boldly beautify space but also to make it productive too as a favourite with wildlife across the urban jungle.
Make a plan for May 1 to meet somewhere public at 8pm (your local time) with seeds, tools and a location or route of neglected land. Post your ideas on the wall of this event or on your local COMMUNITY pages of GuerillaGardening.org.
And hey, there's really no need to wait until May 1 across much of the world, it's fine to be planting sunflower from now, or indeed most other hardy annuals!
Here are some tips about planting.
(At this time of the year sunflowers are best suited to residents of the Northern Hemisphere so go for daffodils if you're coming into winter.)
Plant a seed, join a group, and meet other people with the same mission. Enjoy!
