— Charlie Parker
We don't often dream beyond the short-term life of our gardening projects Our visions tend to end at the triumphant stage with everything in glorious bloom. And what about a year later? Or two years? Or twenty-five? If our campaigns are going to be rooted in ecological principles, how long must we wait until we can declare success?
Matthew Green is a director of adult education and special programs at a community college in San Luis Obispo, California. Several years ago his community development work turned him into a guerrilla gardener when he saw it as a way to get at-risk youths off the streets of a small coastal town and into an empty lot where they might learn some earth-based lessons. Was it all worth it in the end? You decide.
I was the coordinator of a program for at-risk youth. The youth were 90 percent Hispanic. The at-risk description refers to the
Acer species
Trees to plant now for future treehouses: Maple
Hickory — Carya species American beech — Fagus grandiflora Tanbark oak — Lithocarpus densiflorous Apple —- Malus species Spruce — Picea species Pine — Pinus species Douglas fir — Psuedotsuga menziesii Oak — Quercus species Elm — Ulmus species
From the World Treehouse Association (treehouses.com)
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biggest risk which was dropping out of school, but also the risk of getting into trouble with the law, slipping into this gang wannabe lifestyle. It wouldn't be accurate to call them gangster boys, but they played with the symbols of the gang world, doing the signs to each other and the little teardrop tattoos. The initiative of the project was to give them activities that would allow for other options.
We got permission from the owners to use the land, because it would have been very obvious who was doing it. We got permission to use water from next door, and got support from local nurseries which was lukewarm but we did get a discount for the purchase of plants. We got some donations from the community for supplies like shovels and rakes, and we also went to thrift stores. We focused on native plants because of water concerns and the very sandy soil.
The boys were all for it. It was presented as an option so there was a sense that they decided it was for them. They felt they could really make a mark on the community, and could show what good they could do. It included cleaning up years of trash. We put up a sign saying "Male Voices Community Garden Project."
It was hard work, but we got the garden planted. One obstacle was the waning interest of the boys over time. At first everyone was excited. They knew they had the image as sort of undesirables, a troublemaker group of boys. We were trying to work on their image as a group that did care about their community. That part was successful. But other things like the actual work were difficult. Getting them out there to actually work in the garden is easier said than done with 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds. Monitoring the work was always important. I once got a boy to weed and out of not knowing he pulled up the first crop of native plants we planted. Just the challenge of keeping the gardens in good shape and a high priority was hard.
The program was completed a few years ago so I guess it's a good time to look back. Some of the plants are still there. You can still see elements of it, eight or so of the original plants surrounded by weeds and trash. When I left the program the next guy never really got going on the thing. He did try once to get it cleaned up, but you just get overwhelmed with all there actually is to do. Eventually, just out of respect, I took the sign down because it was neglected.
Was it worth it? What I realized, what I take away from my experiences, is these boys find their way. A small percentage end
To make a great garden, one must have a great idea or a great opportunity.
— Sir George Sitwell, in “Essay on the Making of Gardens” (1909)
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up in jail. The majority find jobs to survive with, although they're not necessarily breaking the cycle of poverty or discovering their potential or a confidence within themselves. But a few of them did; they found the push and the connection to education to get back to school and that probably never would have happened. I see these programs as a way to give a sense of connection and belonging. Underneath the antics that we see them doing at 1617, they're going to find their way as they turn to 20 and 25. It's not really the programs that are pulling them through. But I do think that these things have value.
I just wish I had more experience because it could have made a difference. Maybe a little more community involvement, figuring a way to get more people involved. There was a continuity that the boys couldn't bring, there was a presence that I couldn't ensure, there was a concern with building within community that would have made it a bigger project but more likely successful.
So I have no regrets. It's almost like looking back on a girlfriend. You didn't get married but there were adventures that you explored and it gave us a grounding activity, for better or worse. We talked about values and caring for your community, that these were the streets they grew up on and they thought were worth fighting for in their little rival gang stuff so the underlying story of the garden was trying to deepen what they thought was worth fighting for. OK, so fight for what it looks like too. Fight for how much trash is there. I can tell you there are boys who look back with pride, who believe that their time in the project was meaningful. If nothing else it gave them a venue and a context to build relationships within the community.
POWER PLANT
Blueberry muffins? Hmm? Hot from the oven? Or blueberry pancakes perhaps? Wait, wait. Blueberry pie. There. I said it. The mere mention of fresh blueberries should be enough to make the gastronomically advanced drool, and vow to go to whatever effort it takes to grow them.
It isn't complicated, although there could be some chemistry involved. Blueberries love acidic soil. They grow well in the same conditions that favor rhododendrons and azaleas. If your soil is too alkaline, you can sour it by adding plenty of pine needles, composted oak leaves, cottonseed meal or sulfur. The target range to keep blueberries happy is between 4.5 and
5.0 pH. But you needn't get too technical. Plenty of backyard blueberry growers never buy a pH testing kit and do just fine.
Blueberries are a good guerrilla gardening plant because they're low maintenance once settled into the proper conditions. They're hardy, don't really need pruning and provide year-round beauty as well as fruit for people (a tasty example of the benefits of edible landscaping) and for birds and wildlife.
Types of blueberries vary with the region, so a trip to your neighborhood nursery will be instructive. You might also try your local native plant society to see if there's a homegrown version. If you don't need a cultivated form of blueberry for the big, fat, juicy fruit, there are dozens of plants in the same underrated vaccinium family worth planting for their attractive foliage, fall colors and intricate winter twig arrangements. Vacciniums are like the shy hotties at the back of the class whose beauty no one recognizes until they're swept away by some stunned visitor.
If the acid soil part is still worrying you, blueberries and other vaccinium species do well in containers where it's easier to control the local conditions. Peat moss makes a good growing medium.
Did you know: Blueberries are grown commercially throughout North America, making a long harvest season that stretches from spring in Florida to a late variety ripening in October in British Columbia.
Blueberry — Vaccinium corymbosum Credit: Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm's "Unterhaltungen a us der Naturgeschichte" (Encyclopedia of Natural History), published in Vienna from 1810, illustrations by Gottlieb's brother Paul Martin Wilhelm and J. Schaly.
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