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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."
Photo courtesy: Mama's Taverna
Attention Fellow Home Gardeners and Growers of Tomatoes.
There is a trick to growing strong, healthy tomato plants that will produce many sweet tomatoes all summer long. Tomatoes (one of my favourite foods and so incredibly good for you) require calcium in order to grow to their fullest potential.
The easiest way to get calcium to your tomatoes is by watering them with the water you just boiled your eggs in. Let the water cool to room temperature before watering. Eggshells are one of the most natural sources of calcium around. If you don't boil your eggs, save the shells and soak them for 48 hours before watering your plants with the soaking water.
BTW: House plants benefit from the odd "calcium" watering as well.
Photo courtesy: © Stephanie Wolff/the pothole gardener
When TreeHugger profiled Pete Dungey, an artist making miniature gardens in the cracks in Oxford's roads, they wrote that he "works alone, but hopes that others will follow his lead." Turns out a fellow Brit has been treading the same ground all along, adding an extra dose of whimsy to the already adorable little patches of green.
Dungey's counterpart, Londoner Steve Wheen, "fills potholes in roads and sidewalks with soil and living plants, decorating the spaces with miniature props to create tiny worlds," according to the European design site designboom.
Photo courtesy: © Steve Wheen/the pothole gardener
Like many other guerrilla gardeners who have come before him, this pothole gardener says he was inspired by the lack of green space in his neighborhood and a frustrated desire to garden.
With their teeny-tiny chairs, tennis courts, laundry lines, and picnic blankets, these are "green spaces" only a small doll could actually utilize, but Wheen, an avid cyclist, hopes they will put a smile on the faces of passers-by and "highlight how crap our roads and footpaths are."
A pothole designed like a road with a small sign warning of potholes. Photo courtesy: © Steve Wheen/the pothole gardener
Wheen cheerfully documents his guerrilla gardening exploits on his blog, where he also gives shouts-out to like-minded urban interventionists. Commenting on his work, a pedestrian advocacy group writes: "To us, the pothole gardener represents the kind of thing Living Streets wants to see more of -- small and beautiful things that make people take a moment out of their busy day to smile and appreciate their community."
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