On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries - Richard Reynolds

As a young man in 2004 and recently moved into a flat in Elephant and Castle, Richard Reynolds became aware of the miserable public flower beds and neglected planters in front of his tower block. There began for him a passion for guerrilla gardening. He started going out at night to tend and refill the large planters. After three years of successful gardening, Southwark Council became aware of what Richard was up to and savagely tore into the planters destroying all the growing plants, including slashing a white two-metre-high Buddleia. Eventually after months of negotiation, Richard was allowed to continue as an official ‘volunteer’ and the flats’ tenants were no longer charged for the maintenance that they had been paying for and which had never previously been carried out.

Full of colourful photographs, this lively and delightful book is a pleasure to read. It is full of such stories as Richard’s from around the world. Each member of the official guerrilla gardener network (and there must be hundreds of unofficial ones) is given a number along with their name as in an army and in fact, Richard likens guerrilla gardening tactics to those employed by famous political guerrillas such as Mao and Che Guevara. He is also very interesting on the history and genus of guerrilla gardening, going back to Winstanley and the Diggers in the mid-1600s, who attempted to grow crops on Common Land but were persecuted by both Lords of the Manor and some priests and finally squashed by Oliver Cromwell.

But On Guerrilla Gardening is above all a handbook for anyone who wants to take up guerrilla gardening, i.e., gardening in any neglected public space without permission. Richard covers everything from what plants to grow in certain conditions, how to water, what clothes to wear, how to deal with the authorities, what soil to use and how to persuade local people to look after the gardens in their area. I found it inspiring and already have some ideas of where and what to plant in secret around me!

Written in 2008, this lively book may be promoting a movement that is no longer at its height. Our public authorities are somewhat more enlightened now and there are organised community gardens for both flowers and vegetables all over our cities. However, there always exist neglected pockets in both town and country crying out for a bit of life and colour, even if it is only the area of soil around city trees or the road verges in the countryside.