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I'd like to say that there is a Guerilla Gardener in me just waiting to come out. Ask my husband and he would probably tell you that I can envision a garden growing just about anywhere in my city. I'm always pointing and saying things like, "Why not plant a tree here, or flowers there?" I imagine turning abandoned buildings into greenhouses, parking-lot grass medians into botanical delights, and highway medians into evergreen forests.

Until recently I thought I was the only one that thought this way. Then one day I came across the Toronto Public Space Committee and their Guerilla Gardeners. I was overjoyed to discover that fellow gardeners out there were not just envisioning greener cities, but actively greening up the cities with their bare hands, guerrilla style.

Wondering what a Guerilla Gardener is exactly? Picture a group of people like you and me who secretly plant germinated seed bombs and "Please Water Me" signs in freshly made unauthorized gardens all over the city. These are Guerilla Gardeners and between buildings, on traffic medians, around billboards, near bus shelters or any non-green public place, you may run into one of their Guerrilla Gardens one of these days. They come in all ages, sizes and gardening experiences. No, they don't have to have gardening experience to participate. All they need is a passion to make more environmentally friendly cities in the secret of the day or night. I love that that gardening can be so beautiful and rebellious all at the same time.

I also love the Toronto Guerilla Gardeners' front page motto: "Without permit or license, we plant seeds and seedlings in all those neglected corners of public space. Join us as we vandalise the city with nature!" That is exactly what I want to do. I want to vandalize my city with nature. I want to make hot dark humid parking lots come alive with green and multicolored plants. I want 5 o'clock traffic to be something to look forward to instead of a place to fry in the middle of the day. But in this conservative non-green city I call home perhaps I must resort to guerrilla gardening tactics to bring back a little more nature. Maybe it's in my nature. What do you think?

Guerilla Gardening via Treehugger

Gloria Campos-Hensley
Featured Blogger
www.InventorSpot.com

*Please note: Always try to use native seeds and plants! Non-native species can be invasive and harmful to the surrounding eco-system.