Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Pothole Gardener Writes a Book

All photos courtesy: the potholegardener

The Pothole Gardener is a success story: they are calling him the "Banksy of Guerrilla Gardening". He started out doing tiny-and ephemeral-installations in potholes on his street because he didn't have his own garden. Creating a miniature scene, photographing it and seeing what happened.

His renown grew: word of his creations was picked up by the press, his blog had 25,000 hits a month.

And then the movie starring Brad Pitt, no, first the book: The Little Book Of Little Gardens.



It's a sweet book that documents his works to date: a journey through London's streets and neighbourhoods via the pothole creations. And TreeHugger has a sneak preview.


The book is a series of delightful and cleverly staged pictures on different themes: golf, bicycles, snow, fashion, knitting; you name it, he has thought of a way to portray it.


The reasons for his success are obvious. The little gardens make people smile. They are witty, whimsical and a gift to harried passers-by. As explained in the foreword to the book:
He’s giving us something innocent and unsullied. And it’s because he wants nothing back from us in return. His simple creations are a reminder of the good in people and they make us present and appreciative of our world. And there in lies his genius.

As he explains: "I just want to create little moments of happiness and remind people to stop and smell the roses."

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