Dear Reader,
Outside my window and across the street sits a mailbox, surrounded at the moment by cheery daffodils. The mailbox belongs to my neighbor, who, at 98, is something of a local legend — thanks to a life spent promoting human rights, publishing books of poetry, and hosting all kinds of people around her dinner table, from Presidents and Pulitzer Prize winners to ordinary neighbors. The funny thing is that my neighbor didn’t plant those daffodils. Nor did she install the plaque among them that celebrates her. Rather, her mailbox decoration was a tribute — the work of an admiring guerilla gardener.
But guerilla gardeners aren’t just about lauding notable people — they’re about transforming our urban spaces. Guerilla gardening is a grassroots movement in which anyone can get involved. All it takes is some basic garden tools, and some flowers or native plants. And a bit of audacity, since it involves trespassing and messing around with other people’s property, though, as this article explains, most officials overlook guerilla gardening as long as it doesn’t cause “damage, destruction, or public nuisance.”
If you’re inspired to dig into this movement, the best approach might be to join those already at work greening your community, like the Hellstrip Heroes that Bluedot contributor Alec Ross told us about, or Australian Emma Cutting, who planted a five-mile pollinator path, as shared with us by contributor Kira Simpson.
I delight in the daffodils outside my window and salute the Climate Champ who has simply and mysteriously brightened our days.
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Bloomily,
Dot
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