A group of so called guerrilla gardeners go on a night 'dig' in London,
England to beautify some orphaned public land.

 
Richard Reynolds, founder of online blog Guerrillagardening.org has been
illicitly cultivating neglected public spaces for the past four years. He
mostly digs in London but has also lead projects in Plymouth and Tripoli,
Libya.

LONDON, UK (APRIL 22, 2008) REUTERS -

A council estate in south London. For some it's quite a tranquil part of
town. It's even got some green space. But for others it's desperately in need
of a horticultural makeover. One who thinks so is guerrilla gardener Richard
Reynolds. He began what he terms guerilla gardening four years ago when he
moved to a London tower block that didn't even have a window sill for him to
garden. Once he started blogging about his illicit cultivations he discovered
others were carrying out similar actions around the globe.
    With 4,000 people signed up to his website and active cells in London,
Berlin, Montreal, Vancouver, New York and San Fransciso it would seem
guerrilla gardening is spreading its seed far and wide.
    ''Where there's land that's neglected and there's a need for people to
grow food or to grow flowers, people are going to take it over. It's common
sense even if the law is not on their side,'' says Reynolds.
    As the law stands, digging up someone else's land is criminal damage.
That being the case, guerrilla gardeners usually wait until sun-down before,
as they see it, setting out to beautify the environment.
    Reynolds records his dig on his online blog Guerrillagardening.org.
This most recent dig targeted two bare patches on the south London Gaywood
Estate. Reynolds and six fellow troops divided into two teams, to transform
the neglected areas into flourishing beds of lavender, Paris daisies and
Pinks.
    As the dig progressed curious locals gave the horticultural attack the
thumbs up. Kelly Jamieson who was out walking her dog Max thought the beds
were fantastic and generally thought guerrilla gardening was a really good
idea. ''It's nice to see some flowers,'' she said.
    And after several hours of digging, shovelling, planting and watering,
the gardeners work comes to a fruitful end. As the sun rose on another day
residents awakened to the radiant sight of blooming flowers.
    ''Very good, very good and it definitely sets the actual gardens off,
'' said pensioner Jimmy Knock. 87-year old Joanna Harmon agreed. ''They're
lovely, beautiful, really lovely yeah.''
    But guerrilla gardening isn't just about flash raids. To keep these
beds looking lovely requires abiding by one of guerrilla gardening's most
fundamental sentiments - seized ground must be held onto...and that requires
plenty of regular green fingered nurturing.
    Reynolds has written a book, 'On Guerrilla Gardening', a handbook for
gardening without boundaries which covers the movement's history and offers
tips and advice for those who want to get involved, especially for those who
want to focus on neglected public urban spaces. The book, published by
Bloomsbury will be released on May 5th.