Guerilla Gardening

XX Mon. YYYY

I've live in an apartment in a very nice suburb called Hillsdale, near Maroubra and Matraville. But apart from pots on my south-facing balcony I don't have a garden. So, over the course of 3 years I've totally transformed the neighbourhood by rescuing throw-away plants while driving around Sydney, and gathering leaf trash from the streets of Surry Hills to mulch what was very poor, very sandy soil. This is what it used to look like:

Much of the gardens are still a work in progress, with juvenile native shrubs establishing themselves and ground covers gradually taking over. The wire fence shown below will eventually be covered in jasmine and a native vine further along. Growing on another fence, not shown in this essay, is a very productive choko vine, though its not looking so attractive now as the leaves die off, but still bearing fruit.

The best aspect of this endeavour, apart from the sheer pleasure I gain from doing it (great therapy to counter the stress of running a business as a creative) is the way the neighbours are so supportive and rallying to help out. Several people have been inspired to make their own green patch, adding colour to the streetscape.