Many of you have probably already heard of guerilla gardening, a form of garden vandalism where neglected parcels of land are taken over with veggie gardens or flower patches. It's all pretty wonderful in our eyes. Michael Mahoney of PingMag reports of a similar movement in Japan where sidewalk and public spaces have been reclaimed by large groupings of potted plants and flowers, many arranged with the eye and care of traditional Japanese flower arrangements...
[Photos by Michael and Verena]
"The so the common American ‘front yard’ doesn’t exist: Due to the traditional construction ways, houses are set flush against the street or sidewalk, leaving only tiny concrete embankments for people to use as yard.
Yet homeowners and shopkeepers here have an amazing amount of ingenuity in greening up these tiny grey spaces that remain! Curbs bordering the street become homes for geraniums; A/C units become perfect platforms for potted trees - there are no limitations. And it is quite charming to see how cleverly space are reclaimed!"
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
It's cool that no one steals them.
view Kah's profile
I love this idea! It would also be very easy to create a sunflower field in a neglected plot--just buy some cheap birdseed that is all sunflower seeds, turn over the soil and throw in about a zillion seeds, and wait. If you water it or if it rains sufficiently you get a nice field of sunflowers.
view kuroneko's profile
I love this and applaud those ambitious souls committed to these tiny parcels of green.
I wish there was more of this in Boston. Perhaps a guerilla gardening contest could be added to AT...
view anastasia's profile
i love japan
view Joan in SB's profile
If you love japan you should check out what's going on in Los Angeles.
http://laguerrillagardening.org
view Mr. Stamen's profile