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Do you do any guerrilla gardening?

ManderMander Posts: 349
in Plants
There's an ugly little spot at the end of my street that I've been tempted to try and grow something on for ages. I suspect it might be impossible because there aren't even any weeds to speak of there, just a few pathetic poppies that came up last year. It's on a slope and very gravelly, but every time I walk by I ponder what I could plant there. The neighbours would think I'm nuts, probably, since it isn't in front of my house.

Has anyone got a little spot that they tend to, even if it's far away from their actual house?

Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited March 2022
    Yes, I do lots of such gardening, mostly in the beds of the street trees. I wouldn't worry too much what the neighbours think, as long as the planting doesn't get in the way. Councils often love it and are very supportive.

    My ongoing thread is here - covering lots of other people's local work too.


    John Little is a landscaper that works with growing in pure builders' sand, crushed toilets, sinks, motorway waste. He states that working with zero top soil is best for low maintenance planting, biodiversity, low weeding and bee life; Very low fertility is best for public spaces.

    My own main street plot is an ex-tree bed on sand. We have planted for drought tolerance, zero watering after the plants / seeds are established, pollinator friendliness and pavement friendliness. So, if you have some some kind of substrate, you should be fine, with the appropriate plants.

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    2020


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    2021



  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Wow, that is a lot of lovely stuff! If I remember I will take a photo of the space next time I walk by and see what people think. It could also be a bit salty, as it's right next to a grit bin.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    There are plenty of salt and drought-tolerant plants that might work. You often see Danish Scurvy Grass growing happily on central reservations of motorways where nothing else will grow. https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/danish-scurvy-grass
    It's always worth chucking a handful of sedum cuttings into unloved areas like that and seeing what happens too.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited March 2022
    If you go for salt tolerant / sea shore plants, you should be fine. I tried a lot of different plants for years, experimenting, to find ones that were happy and suited. Plants don't read books, as they say, so ones you might think would never sing, might love your space.

    The plants do need to be super tough, like sedum. You would expect them to get peed on, trampled and dug up by dogs, cats, possibly foxes, if you have them, and maybe people too; smashed by bikes and drunks; wrecked by people who don't even notice the plot is there. I find pretty low growing is best - 30cm of under, so they don't get bent by wind, snow or heavy rain and will be ok after a storm if you don't visit for a week. I put fairy garden houses, wells and doors around and they get a lot of love. They kind of send a message that this isn't a council project and is tended with care. I put up a sign to that effect as well. It helps.

    Self seeders are easy, so you edit out rather than add. Long season bloomers make life easier. Plants that are ok to be broken and will happily regrow, like bushy salvia or sedum, are best - nothing that sulks.

    Start with poppies. There are so, so many types from all over the world. It's mind boggling. You don't need to have loads of types of plants. Starting with repeats of three or four is fine. Finding a few reliable, self reliant, no fuss,  cast iron growers for you will be better than trying to discover ten from the off. You might just have sedum and nothing else and it could be great.

    On the main plot we started with repeated erigeron, G. Rozanne,  Centranthus ruber alba and feverfew and after nearly two years, they are still the main stays and main filler. We later added bulbs, various poppies (of uncertain germination), sedum, verbenas and salvias. The sedum will stay, the others are not so rock solid. A plant list for the main plot is here.

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Lovely pics.

    About six years ago a bunch neighbours planted scilla under all the street trees on our street. It builds up over the years and now makes a pretty blue carpet where it has survived.
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    These are all great ideas. I have a lot of London Pride and some kind of sedum in the garden already so maybe I'll just put a couple in there and see what happens. Last year there were a couple of scraggly poppies there so I might try adding a bit. 
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Here is the little plot in question. It does have a couple of sad little weeds and a tiny bit of some kind of sedum, I think. It faces roughly NW. There is some kind of drainage pipe running through it at an angle. 


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