Guerrilla gardening

17:04 2nd April 2008

Gardeners keen to share their green-fingered skills with the rest of the world and not confine their talents to their own patch of land may be interested to hear about a new horticultural phenomenon sweeping cities around the world.

The trend has seen hooded youths turning up at patches of abandoned urban land in the night and engaging in some nocturnal horticultural activities.

Online resource Hippy Shopper explains that guerrilla gardening sees groups of dedicated gardeners beautifying patches of "orphaned land" - giving them a new lease of thief by planting seeds, flowers and installing pieces of street art.

After completing their activities the guerrillas make their presence known by flyering the local area to make residents aware of what has happened.

Online resource Guerrilla Gardening Troop Digs notes numerous examples of undercover gardening activity, including horticultural work in Berlin, London, Lancashire and the USA in places such as traffic islands, university gardens and vacant plots.