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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
"Guerrilla gardening is the act of gardening – raising food, plants, or flowers – on land that the gardeners do not have the legal rights to cultivate, such as abandoned sites, areas that are not being cared for, or private property. It encompasses a diverse range of people and motivations, ranging from gardeners who spill over their legal boundaries to gardeners with a political purpose, who seek to provoke change by using guerrilla gardening as a form of protest or direct action. This practice has implications for land rights and land reform; aiming to promote re-consideration of land ownership in order to assign a new purpose or reclaim land that is perceived to be in neglect or misused. Some gardeners work at night, in relative secrecy, in an effort to make the area more useful or attractive, while others garden during the day for publicity." - Wikipedia: Guerrilla Gardening
The term bewildering has also become synonymous with the movement.
Considerations
Considerations
As with any project, it's a good idea to have a plan, understand local laws (are you breaking or just bending the law in your area?), and have a good idea of what actions may harm instead of help.
Purpose & Goals
Purpose & Goals
When considering a project, think about the space you intend to work, what your goals are, and what purpose the "garden" can fill.
Edible Garden to Comat Hunger
Edible Garden to Comat Hunger
If homelessness and hunger is a problem, then you may want to plant edibles such as nut trees and berry bushes. Remember that you should avoid eating anything from polluted soil, and that roadside soil is especially high in lead and other dangerous chemicals.
Beauty & Wildlife
Beauty & Wildlife
If the space may have high pollution (such as a roadside or the middle of a roundabout), pollinator gardens may be the better choice. These areas are often left ugly, or are frequently mowed grass. This is a waste of resources, and doesn't help humans connect with nature the same way flowering plants do.
Reduce Flooding/Save Water
Reduce Flooding/Save Water
Some of us live in areas which experience increasingly bad flooding. With so many impermeable surfaces and poor, compacted soil, rain simply has nowhere to go, but to flood our communities. By creating swale gardens in areas that flood badly, we can help reduce flooding, while sequestering the excess water in the plants and their soil.
If you have repeatedly asked local officials to help end flooding, but nothing has been done, digging and creating this type of garden could help protect your community while also bringing more biodiversity back.
Plant the Rain—Don't Drain It—To End the Drought with Passive Water Harvesting by Brad Lancaster
This 8:02 minute video isn't specifically an example of guerilla gardening, but does show how a simple garden design can help catch rain water instead of letting it overwhelm the local drain system.
Note the stones around the edges! These not only help prevent silt from washing in and filling up the flower bed, but they help create a specific border than can indicate where not to step. A blind person with a can can tell from the altered terrain that there is an obstacle they should investigate or simply go around.
Local Laws
Local Laws
Make sure you know your local laws, who owns the land you want to work, and what types of consequences you may face if the police get involved.
What to Wear
What to Wear
Wearing the right clothes can not only help protect you from thorns and weather elements, but they may also help protect you from the law. If working at night, wear dark colours, and don't forget some comfortable running shoes in case you have to make a quick get away. Wearing some older shoes is best if you are working in sticky mud, while gardening boots can offer more protection, they are terrible for running, or may even help get you get in trouble.
Location Details
Location Details
Who Owns the Land?
Who Owns the Land?
Many of these projects are done on public land or council-owned spaces that aren't being used to their full potential. Worse are the drab, empty patches that get mowed until not even grass can easily grow any more.
Knowing who owns the land can also influence what type of legal backlash may happen if someone doesn't like the work you are doing.
If the land is scheduled to be sold off and built up into homes or businesses, then there's very little point in wasting time and resources creating a garden.
Water
Water
Before planting anything, it's important to get an idea of how much rain it will get, if there's any automated watering system, if it gets run off from nearby roadways or buildings. If it remains dry year-round, you might want to xeriscape, but if it floods often, then planting flood-tolerant plants would be better. If the plants can't get enough water on their own, then you may have to come along throughout the year to water them yourself.
Sunlight
Sunlight
When planting any type of plants, it's best to understand how much sun they will get and when. Some love morning sun, while others prefer evening sun. Some species can tolerate sun all day long and will work well in a roundabout, while others will do better under thick-leaved trees which may only let dapple light through.
Appropriate Plants
Appropriate Plants
As with any eco-friendly garden project, it's generally best to pick local natives. Check out our directory to find our what plants are native to your area.
Bee-Safe Nurserty Plants
Bee-Safe Nurserty Plants
Weeding
Weeding
A weed is a plant that is growing where it isn't wanted. This can include grass and trees. The definition can vary by person, so what some may call a weed, may in fact be beneficial natives. On this site we generally consider invasive species to be the weeds we should tackle first. Invasive species can take over and push other plant species to extinction. Some have no nutritional or other value to wildlife, or worse, they may even push native birds or other species out of their own habitats.
Click the Invasives button to learn to identify problem species and either report them or deal with them yourself.
Continued Care
Continued Care
The best thing about planting natives is that they generally need little to no care. That said, some plants end up looking somewhat ugly after they bloom, or after weather extremes such as droughts or hard freezes. When an area looks ugly, it's more likely to receive complaints or to be mowed over. To avoid these types of problems you may want to consider care as needed, including activities such as:
Watering
Mulching
Trimming and/or Pruning
Deadheading
Dividing Digging up plants from the roots, splitting them into smaller clumps or single bulbs, then replanting them further apart can help encourage air flow, which reduces the risk of death by rotting.
Watering
Watering
This is especially important for freshly-planted specimens, but also important during prolonged droughts. The number one cause of many failed plantings was that the plants didn't get the right amount of water early on.
Mulching
Mulching
Mulching is important in hot places as it reduces evaporation from the soil, and prevents roots from getting too hot. In colder weather mulching can help protect roots and bulbs from freezes. Mulching improves soil health, reduces the need to water, and can even provide hiding places for important organisms such as woodlice/pill bugs who help break the mulch down into nutritious soil.
Trimming / Pruning
Trimming / Pruning
These are different. They perform different services to the plants, and involve different tactics. You might prune a plant at one time of year, then trim it again later (or vice versa), depending on how it is growing, or how it might have been damaged by weather or pests.
Deadheading
Deadheading
Taking of sad-looking, spent flower heads can encourage certain species to bloom back even better. Double check each species needs, as some plants just won't bloom a second time.
Dividing
Dividing
Digging up plants from the roots, splitting them into smaller clumps or single bulbs, then replanting them further apart can help encourage air flow, which reduces the risk of death by rotting.
This is also a cheap way to reproduce certain species. Dividing is a great way to either make a bigger patch of plants, or to get new plants to start a new project area.
Special Days
Special Days
International
International
"Since 2007, May 1 has been celebrated as an annual International Sunflower Guerrilla Day, in which guerrilla gardeners plant sunflowers in their neighborhoods.[5]" - Wikipedia: Guerrilla Gardening
Apps & Tools
Apps & Tools
Bee Score: Flower Finder "Select the flowers you have in your garden, then hit continue to find out your current bee kind score. If you’re not sure exactly which plants you have, try clicking the filters on and off to help identify the bee-friendly flowers in your garden." This is hosted by and for UK residents, so you won't get a bonus for "native species" if you live outside the UK, and might see your local natives listed as "non-native" or get an "invasive penalty" even if those plants are fine where you live, but this is still a fun and educational resource.
Europe
Europe
UK
UK
Bee Score: Flower Finder "Select the flowers you have in your garden, then hit continue to find out your current bee kind score. If you’re not sure exactly which plants you have, try clicking the filters on and off to help identify the bee-friendly flowers in your garden." This is hosted by and for UK residents, so you won't get a bonus for "native species" if you live outside the UK, and might see your local natives listed as "non-native" or get an "invasive penalty" even if those plants are fine where you live, but this is still a fun and educational resource.
Guides & Resources
Guides & Resources
Bee-Friendly Gardening
Bee-Friendly Gardening
Autumn/Winter Garden Maintenance Guide "The autumn and winter months can be challenging for our hardworking pollinators, but we can all do something in our outdoor spaces to help bumblebees survive and thrive!
Download this guide to discover how you can create and protect potential hibernation spots for bumblebee queens, prepare for next year with some easy maintenance jobs and autumn/winter planting, and feed the bumblebees who do remain active over winter." The planting suggestions are specifically for UK residents, but could also work in other places. Just be careful to pick native plants whenever possible to avoid introducing anything invasive.
How-To: Seed Bombs
How-To: Seed Bombs
Make Your Own Bee-Friendly Seed Balls (PDF) be aware that the planting suggestions are specifically for UK residents, but could also work in other places. Just be careful to pick native plants whenever possible to avoid introducing anything invasive.
Resources
Resources
International
International
GuerrillaGardening.org Started in London, but inspired people around the world and has spread to documenting guerilla gardening efforts world wide.
Europe
Europe
Netherlands
Netherlands
Extinction Rebellion Landbouw: Manual #SoilRebellion (PDF) This manual was created by an organization in the Netherlands and has good basic info, but the suggested plants might not be appropriate for people living elsewhere. The first part of the document is in English, and the bottom switches to Dutch.
UK
UK
GuerrillaGardening.org Started in London, but inspired people around the world and has spread to documenting guerilla gardening efforts world wide.
Groups
Groups
International
International
Online
Online
r/guerillagardening offers advice and inspiration
r/GuerrillaGardening offers advice and inspiration
Maps
Maps
International
International
Butterfly Conservation: Wild Spaces: Put Your Wild Space on the Map "Our interactive map shows the number and types of Wild Space near you. When you sign up in the UK, your Wild Space will also appear on the map so you can show everyone that you're taking action and encourage others to get involved too."
Europe
Europe
UK
UK
Butterfly Conservation: Wild Spaces: Put Your Wild Space on the Map "Our interactive map shows the number and types of Wild Space near you. When you sign up in the UK, your Wild Space will also appear on the map so you can show everyone that you're taking action and encourage others to get involved too."
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