(As published in the Australian Times, London)
Not all crimes are bad. Countless acts of guerilla gardening occur around the world by everyday people. Addressing the dire need for horticultural revamps are people like Australian Stuart McKay who first began his grassroots campaign in 2006. Guerilla gardeners look ruefully around at the urban contemporary landscape and see a world rendered ugly by the dull influences of commerce. McKay describes the act as ‘the latest in urban warfare techniques – the Banksy equivalent of the horticultural world!’
Stuart started applying his principles when he first lived in Hackney, London. Everyone knows how grey and miserable London can and McKay and his gang just wanted to make it a more liveable space. ‘At first, I felt a bit self conscious,’ says McKay, ‘we we’re planting these things everywhere. I thought everyone is going to look at me and think I’m a freak but everyone’s been so supportive. Except for this one guy who said “nice idea guys but my dog shits there every morning” and I came back with “well, it sure makes for good fertilizer!”’
The covert activities usually begin with an email from McKay with a rendezvous time and place and everyone turns up in black clothing (McKay claims that “it adds to the bad boy effect”). Armed with trowels, seeds, and a vision, McKay’s working group traverse the landscape to find areas for beautification – the idea is to garden everywhere (behind supermarkets, along canals, at bus stops). It is a bit of an urban adventure at the threshold of nature and culture, reclaiming the public space and transforming it into something that everyone can enjoy.
The sideline objective to guerrilla gardening is to improve the natural environment and active wildlife. McKay believes that it’s the lack of greenery that explains the shortage of native animals. ‘What I really want to do, is link it to restoring old hedge groves so that you’re actually growing native plants which in turns attract native animals back into the area that survive on that vegetation.”
McKay’s gardening attempts haven’t always come up roses. ‘Last time we planted more than two hundred bulbs around various locations but not all sprouted,’ he muses, ‘some fell victim to over-zealous lawn mowing and inquisitive wildlife’. The main culprits? ‘There’s a bit of friendly animosity between the gardeners and curious dogs and critters who find tulip bulbs rather tasty’.
