Guerrilla Gardening is a term that refers to the act of planting flowers or edible gardens on property that one does not own. In our case, we had our eyes set on growing a pollinator garden along a hundred-by-three-wide strip of city-owned land that runs between our sidewalk and the street curb just outside our fence.
Urban Guerrilla Gardening
It took several very long workdays to reclaim that section of ground from years of weeds and trampling. We aerated and augmented every inch of the soil. Then we planted more than a dozen Hidecote lavenders known for their size, longevity, and strongly scented blooms.
After battling with folks stepping out of their cars onto our vulnerable baby lavender, we put in a few brick paths and added a fence around each until they grew tall enough to not get stepped on anymore.
Every February while the lavender is just beginning to get new green shoots, but we'll before it blooms, we sow wildflower seeds all along that strip. A showstopper of Scarlet Flax (Linum grandiflorum), Golden California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica), and Bachelor Buttons or Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus). Not a day goes by that we don't get compliments and appreciation for our walk-of-flowers all abuzz with pollinators.