Guerrilla Gardening...

Aside from the obvious environmental benefits of growing your own produce (not to mention the reduction in food waste), one simply can't ignore the aesthetic qualities of gardening. Growing plants and flowers for visual pleasure has been a time-honoured past-time throughout civilisation and one that evokes images of country houses, landscaped gardens and public parks. So how does a bleak pavement in an industrial area fit into this?

Whilst much of Hackney is rapidly being gentrified in preparation for the forthcoming 2012 Olympic games, many parts of it remain bleak, industrial and run-down. In areas such as these, gardening seems an impossibility – or does it?

This week I was pleasantly surprised to notice this large flower bed had suddenly appeared in the middle of the pavement! Guerrilla gardening is becoming much more prevalent in urban areas, due in part to a number of reasons. Fed up with local authorities dragging their heels over planning permission and bureaucratic red tape, many urban city dwellers are taking affirmative action and constructing urban garden displays overnight.

Although guerrilla gardening is not a new concept, its prevalence is certainly increasing. I was genuinely surprised to see this flower display pop up and I think you'll all agree, it makes such a difference to the bleak surroundings. A friend of mine lives in the locale and has already seen neighbours watering the flowers and talking to each other about its sudden appearance.

What a wonderful way to highlight the pleasure people can derive from gardening – and the fact that guerrilla gardening in particular, shows that community spirit is not as dead as we feared.

Spiders & Cobras...

Aside from balconies and vegetables, I also have a penchant for plants and flowers. Whilst I may not have the space to plan a fanciful garden full of spectacular bloom and wonder, my flat is dotted with pot plants and interesting flowers that offer a pleasant alternative to vegetable gardening.

When my girlfriend and I moved into the flat in April 2008, we purchased a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) that has lived quite happily in the bathroom ever since. For months and months the other half harassed me to re-plant it and sort it out, since it was taking up more and more space by the day!

Whilst I was setting about this task however, I thought it worth chronicling the plant's unique growth. As you can see from the picture below, the plant has branched off in a long row, with several discernible 'root lumps' ready for re-planting:


Having cut these apart, I proceeded to re-pot these in various different pots in the hope that we will soon be overrun with new spider plants. I happened to remember reading somewhere that some plants simply need water to survive – please feel free to correct me if wrong! As an experiment (that shall of course be chronicled here on the London Vegetable Garden), I have given one spider plant a new home in a glass of water:

At the time, I didn't have any hormonal root growth powder to hand, so I'm not sure if the 'roots' on these separate plants will take very well – watch this space...

Before I stop writing and start enjoying some of my delicious tomatoes for tea, a quick update on the (in)famous 'Cobra Lily Challenge 2009'. The full story of this gardening challenge can be viewed by clicking here, but regular readers will know that I challenged Grumblemouse of GrumbleGarden fame to a Cobra Lily grow-off; here is my progress so far:

Grumblemouse, it's over to you...

Butternut Squash - a Whole New World!

Arguably the London Vegetable Garden's most thirsty plant, my butternut squash has been enjoying the recent muggy weather and continues to grow exponentially! There are many different things going on in the pot however, so I'm appealing to you, dear readers, for advice and pointers!

The shot below shows the plant in its pot on the London Vegetable Garden balcony:
As you can see, it looks very similar to a courgette plant at the moment – plenty of big leaves that threaten to take over the whole balcony! What is interesting however, is the recent appearance of these 'swirly feelers' – I don't know what else to call them:

As you can see, they're quite interesting – does anyone know what they are? Are they simply looking for a new cane / net to latch onto and grow up?

Finally, we have some bud-like things forming on the stems, as so:


Are these the beginnings of the squashes? As you can see, there's quite a lot going on in this pot – any advice would be most welcome!

Every Little Helps – Or Does It?

England's shortage of available allotment plots, and quite frankly ludicrous waiting lists, is now a well-documented problem. Although highlighting this issue has led some councils to open up disused building sites and launch garden adoption schemes, it seems that many local authorities, especially in London, have more pressing concerns.

After all, why invest a relatively small amount of money providing new allotment plots that will be tilled for 100 years when you can spend millions and millions of pounds on an Olympic venue that will be dismantled after its one month of use? Irony? Politics? Either way, a very real situation.

Since our elected representatives are struggling to support this campaign for urban gardening space, power is very much in the hands of the people – we've already seen the huge success of the Shoreditch housing estate and their makeshift community allotment. But perhaps there's also an opportunity for private business to get involved, which of course, comes no bigger than Tesco.

The iconic British supermarket / retail behemoth is now planning to offer customers Tesco allotment plots. You do read correctly dear readers – Tesco has applied for planning permission to create thirty allotment plots next to its Southport store in Lancashire. When it comes to getting more allotments created and opened in England, to quote Tesco's infamous mantra, 'Every Little Helps' – but does it? If we look at this issue more closely, as with gardening, there's a lot more going on under the surface.

250 miles away from Southport, in Hadleigh, Suffolk, Tesco is in fact battling to tarmac over a number of allotments in a natural beauty spot to pave the way for a proposed superstore. The 'Bridge Allotments' have been tilled for over fifty years and Tesco is now flexing every corporate muscle to eradicate these plots for its own gain. As Bridge Allotment plot holder Brian Dicks says, “It is complete hypocrisy for Tesco to pretend to be concerned about the need for allotments in Southport.” My thoughts exactly.

As a campaigner for urban gardening space, I'd normally welcome any sort of plot opening. As with all gardeners however, one of the things we crave is authenticity. Tesco may be waxing lyrical about addressing the shortage of allotment problems, but when examined more closely, this is purely a PR stunt. I'd advise gardeners nation-wide to boycott Tesco allotments and expose the truth that is going on behind the scenes, lending any support possible to our gardening friends in Hadleigh.

(For more information on this issue, further articles can be found in the Telegraph and on Click Liverpool.)