I'm the 'Guerrilla Gardener' who started planting around the four trees at the intersection of Fordwych Road and St Cuthbert's Road. It's been an interesting experience in terms of neighbourhood community-building. Similar to having a cute pet or child, 'strangers' who are really our neighbours, would stop and chat pleasantly about the planting when normally we'd just remain invisible to each other. It's nice to see people slowing down a little on our busy street to enjoy a bit of green space and get us back in touch with the earth and the seasons - something our addiction to our mobiles and i-pads as we trod the pavement has tended to crowd out of our lives. Many people said it's more enjoyable to see flowers and plants than it is to see the all-too-often collection of fly-tipping, household trash, and dog waste that tree pits seem to collect along Fordwych Road. So there may be an added benefit of clean up as well as green up.
Whilst it may be new to Fordwych Road, neighbourhoods all over London are busy reclaiming public spaces for a bit of gardening to sooth the soul and spruce up communities. As Pimp Your Pavement says on its website: (It's) "a campaign to plant life in your street. It’s about turning the public realm into a borderless community garden, getting people spilling out of their private space and being creative there. Growing beauty, growing produce, helping nature along the way, it’s all life and it all comes from gardening."
So, if you live in the area, or have a business or a school or place or worship, or whatever, why not join in with Garden Friends NW2 and adopt a tree along Fordwych Road and turn this:
into this: 
50 trees, 50 posters - volunteers needed! The 'Adopt Me' tree posters are ready to be put up between Maygrove and Mill Lane along Fordwych Road, and assistance is needed. Meet in front of St Cuthbert's Church at 11 am on Saturday, 22nd June and we can get it sorted. Thanks, David
ReplyDeleteThe Adopt a Tree posters are all up now between Maygrove and Mill Lane, thanks to Elena & David. They're attracting a lot of interest and notice. Already we have three new tree pit gardens that have sprung up. Thanks to Joanne, Elena and Cate for getting it rolling. That's going from 4 to 7 practically overnight!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to add your comments, questions, experiences about Adopting a Tree and starting/maintaining a garden here. The more that start popping up, the more they will spread to our neighbours and set an example to join in on our 'Green-up and Clean-up' through gardening campaign.
The Adopt a Tree posters have now come down on Fordwych Road and we now have 10 tree pit gardens started up! But just because you don't see a poster, don't let that deter you from adopting a tree (or another tree) and getting started. With the light rain, this weekend's a perfect time for it. Just seeing what some people have done so far is inspiring and should be motivating. If our (busy, temporary, young, old, whatever) neighbours can do it, so can we. So give a 'green thumbs up' to our pioneers for kick-starting it all, and feel that kick where it will do the most to get us to follow in their fork prints.
ReplyDeleteKeep calm and carry on gardening...this weekend :)
COUNCILS PROMOTING FLOWER TREE PITS
ReplyDelete• ISLINGTON / ref Blackstock Triangle
• BRENT / ref Greening Blenheim Gardens Project