Thursday, August 28, 2008

We dug it

The Garden Posse's first dig was a success. Thanks to everyone who showed up, the trash that had plagued our site was quickly swept away, soil was dug up and amended, and plants and seeds were put in their place. We had created the beginnings of a garden in two hours.


There are so many great things about guerrilla gardening. It was great to see so many people show up, looking eager and excited to garden. And then to literally attack the area with gardening. Shovels, hands, trowels, plants, and seeds came in very rapid succession.


I think everyone felt really good about what we were doing. And it was very reaffirming when people stopped by while walking their dogs, or after finishing a meal at Salvation Pizza, to ask what we were doing and thank us for it. My favorite comment came from an older woman (a fellow gardener) at the end of the night: "We were just watching Batman tonight, while you all were doing good!"

I'm thinking maybe the mayor's office should flash a signal into the night sky whenever guerrilla gardeners are needed.

So, so many thanks to everyone who came to get involved with the Garden Posse. We are so excited about our future in guerrilla gardening. Also thanks to Renee and Joe from the Austin-American Statesman, who came out to observe our illicit gardening activities with an objective eye (and some cameras).


The consensus from many people was that we should meet and garden on a weekly basis. We'd stick to Tuesday nights at 8pm, for now.

The rough plan for next week is to meet back at this site at 34th and Guadelupe to maintain what we planted this week, and possibly extend the garden if I can get some more plants (or if you can). We'll also paint a Garden Posse sign, and discuss a calendar of future events. I'll update and email this information as the details become clear.

See you next week!

1 comment:

Danielle Boone said...

I love this concept, but I just can't make it on Tuesdays. I did see this ad on craigslist, though:

http://austin.craigslist.org/zip/817475859.html

Free trees for the digging - maybe it will help. Keep up the great work!