Covert/guerrilla gardening
- Thread starter ren531
- Start date
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They can be all that and more. In the case of knotweed along with others it's illegal to grow , sell it , give it away or propagate.
It's a real bad boy brings down buildings and more.
Another well known bad boy Himalayan balsam is killing our water courses it's costing ££££ to deal with.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=530
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009...entres-nurseries-pond-weed-rhododendron-defra
Even rouge Rhododendon is a real issue in woodland.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Oh, I forgot... I have cowslips as well...
Bought a pack of seeds in the shop at the Weald and Downland museum when I was in junior school, and still have plenty growing in the garden. Nothing says I can't save a few seedheads for the same purpose.
Bought a pack of seeds in the shop at the Weald and Downland museum when I was in junior school, and still have plenty growing in the garden. Nothing says I can't save a few seedheads for the same purpose.
OP
OP
ren531
Veteran
- Location
- Lancaster uk
This is partially my motivation , to brighten things up a bit and add interest to the journey but when you see the results of the plants growing and atracting pollenating insects it is rather nice, i would repeat what others have said that anything sowed or planted must be native natural wild flowers, its all to easy to intoduce some thing bad into the enviroment and once its there is bad to eradicate.Some years ago i used to travel down to Rebridge to pick up parts on a weekly basis and there was a mature fella there ( i was youngerthen ....now i'm mature too) i used to get on well with. He walked to work most days and used to carry a bag of seeds and covertly throw them in verges, peoples gardens etc etc.
Why ? i asked.
It brightens up my walk to work, he replied
Unfortunately I've not found the report, but i remember the story of a certain individual working off his sentence doing community work was given the job of planting thousands of spring bulbs on a road embankment.
He was instructed to plant them in drifts and was given string to mark out the lines
When the plants all came up the following spring, in 30 foot high beautiful yellow letters on a delightful pale blue background was written "F**K OFF"
Apparently it was several years before the local council did anything about it
He was instructed to plant them in drifts and was given string to mark out the lines
When the plants all came up the following spring, in 30 foot high beautiful yellow letters on a delightful pale blue background was written "F**K OFF"
Apparently it was several years before the local council did anything about it
shirokazan
Veteran
My guerrilla gardening amounts to trimming the shrubs and trees that threaten to take over the footpath on my route to the town centre. Council pay no attention to them in spite of mowing the trivial amount of grass that lines parts of the footpath. Tsk.
Globalti
Legendary Member
That's funny... I heard the same story about the bloke who was sacked from his job putting the letters in the sticks of rock in a factory in Blackpool. Two weeks later Management discovered they had two miles of rock in the warehouse with the same words written through it....
twentysix by twentyfive
Clinging on tightly
- Location
- Over the Hill
I collected some tree seeds - Hawthorn, Field Maple, Chestnut and Sycamore. Also some acorns. Germinated them in pots. The Oaks went to the Wildlife Trust while I found a denuded patch in one of my well trodden lanes and planted the others out. Not all survived but I've been watching the trees grow for 15 years or more now. Currently got Oak, Ash, Field Maple and Hawthorn on the go. Given up with Sycamore and Horse Chestnut as not "proper" natives.
PapaZita
Guru
- Location
- St. Albans
Another good reason is that native plants tend to be best for native insects and birds, as they have all evolved together.
shirokazan
Veteran
As I understand it, that's precisely why Japanese knotweed isn't a problem in a Japan: it's kept in check by native insects, etc.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
About 30 years ago, my mum planted a small conker sapling on a bare patch of land just across the road. It's now a very fine tree which is currently in full bloom. 
OP
OP
ren531
Veteran
- Location
- Lancaster uk
. Brilliant ,what an amazing tale with you planting such standards as Oak ,Ash ,Field maple and Hawthorn your also supporting a mass of other wildlife ,doing this gives you a real and solid connection with the natural world that cannot be over stated ,watching them grow must have been very rewarding .
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
I was lucky, back in the 80s I worked at disused ballast workings turning them into Watermead Countryside Park. It was a 1yr contract on the community program (known as 'Maggies Minions') and during my time there I got to plant a whole bunch of Trees and about 3/4 of a mile of Hawthorn Hedging along the Canalside where we had erected post and rail fencing the year before, they were 'whips' set a foot apart either side of the fence which have now been 'laid' properly once they were fully established.
EDIT good for cyclists as they're too near the Canal to cut em with a tractor so no thorns on the Towpath.
