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When Guerilla Gardeners start annoying you
I'm a great admirer of guerilla gardeners and the steps they take to beautify our concrete jungles - well at least I was until a couple moved into MY neighbourhood.
If you can picture a rural setting with tall Peppermint trees and supporting undergrowth merging into suburbia, then you can imagine our little part of the world. It was one of the reasons we bought our house where we did. There are very few estates developed these days that leave tall trees as a feature and strips of open vegetation that have never been tampered with by mankind. And here in bustling Busselton this little oasis survived.
However, some over zealous gardeners have taken it upon themselves to clear up this scraggly habitat and make it - apparently - more visually pleasing. They removed some of the trees on council land and have begun planting "Grandma Plants" in some of the roundabouts. Not that I'm against Grandma plants - just probably not in this setting.
And while these gardeners are obviously quite chuffed with their efforts I have to refrain myself from poking my fingers down my throat. It's such an abomination. The landscape, while admittedly scraggly and untamed, was as it had been for the past millenia. Completely natural.
Now thanks to these two we are seemingly obligated to be thankful for the effort they are making in beautifying our area. I mean...what can one do? For whatever reason they didn't like what I enjoyed and I certainly don't like what they enjoy. It's like art. The difference being that art can be kept indoors where doors can be shut. Here, it's all on display whether you like it or not.
And it's not like I can avoid these areas or close my eyes as I drive from home to work and back. It confronts me everyday and stirs my ire against these so-called guerillas.
How will I resolve this in my own mind? RoundUp™.
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Comments
Roundup? ;) The nerve of some people never ceases to amaze me. It's a bit like the way the superintendent of our building deals with the property "landscaping" -- lopping off huge branches of otherwise healthy trees, destroying the bit of shade we had from the hottest sun of the day...or "pruning" rhododendrons by feet, because it makes it easier to mow around them. Like the guerillas, he could care less and thinks he's making improvements, but it raises my BP by several numbers every time I drive in the parking lot or go to an open window. The same, but different, I know. Guerilla gardening should be saved for vacant or abandoned city lots.
Posted by: Nancy Bond | June 18, 2008 9:26 AM
I have to agree some of those areas should be left as natural landscapes where the flora and fauna can grow and thrive as they always have. There was a story last week on our local news about a woman who was complaining about a vacant lot next to her house. It was overgrown with natural weeds, plants and trees and she wanted it cleared. It looked like a good place for the natural insects and animals of our climate to live. What one gardener sees as a positive another will see as a negative I guess. Diversity is important.
Posted by: Dave | June 18, 2008 10:15 AM
Now what counter-guerrilla or guerrilla vs. guerrilla? :-) I tend to agree that if the area is "natural" that it should remain so.
But your point also carries on to the classic guerrilla gardening -- what if the neighborhood doesn't like the changes or has a different opinion. I'm sure in those empty city lots something is better than nothing, but the guerrillas have to fight each other if they have design conflicts.
Posted by: ChrisND | June 18, 2008 2:09 PM
I am fully supportive when they clean up a round down rubbish strewn area which is obviously bringing the tone of the garden down but to pull up trees and remove indigenous habitiat to replace it with grandma plants is ridiculous. And now the natural habitate is removed someone is going tohave to maintain this area. Cant the council do something?
Posted by: Helen/patientgardener | June 18, 2008 8:50 PM
How sad! You know, sometimes I think "no wonder there are wars"; people think so differently there surly will be conflict. Is there no place to complain about the acts of these people. I'd be tempted to be a counter-guerrilla.
Posted by: Barbee' | June 21, 2008 2:22 AM
I had to laugh. If there's ever been an appropriate use for RoundUp, that may be it.
--Kate
Posted by: themanicgardener | July 5, 2008 8:28 AM