Ahead of her book launch at the Museum on Tuesday 13 June, we share an exclusive extract from activist and guerrilla gardener Ellen Miles’s new book Get Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Planting in Public Places.
HOW I GOT HERE
Like many Guerrilla Gardeners, I started out not really knowing what I was doing. Okay, I didn’t know what I was doing at all…
Flash back to 2020. I’d just started Nature is a Human Right, a campaign for the United Nations to recognise access to healthy, green environments as a human right – a reaction to the inequalities highlighted (and exacerbated) at the time. It’s a goal I stand by, but a long-term, top-down approach. I wanted to do something more immediate, more tangible. So I reached out to local authorities, hoping they’d back some nimble greening in neglected spaces. I should’ve known better. At the time, I was working in a London council myself, supporting a community organising project in one of the city’s most nature-deprived wards. The passionate, knowledgeable, capable people in that community knew what their neighbourhoods needed, and how to make it happen. Still, the council wouldn’t hand over the resources or rights to let them do that changemaking.
I had a lot of questions. Why was our work conducted in an ivory tower, miles away from the people we were meant to be working for? Why were we playing pass-the-paperwork when there was action to be taken? Why was more time and money spent on “impact measurement” than actual impact? The response was always the same: “That’s just how things are done.”
So I shouldn’t have been surprised when my own council wasn’t eager to let me loose on my postcode with a tubful of shrubs and a fistful of seed. Instead my query was tossed from one inbox to another, a hot potato in the “CC” field; any gaps in this virtual chain-like fence led to a thornbush of liability concerns and planning applications, snagging against action.
Around that time, a friend told me about “tactical urbanism”, a movement he’d been active in back home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Flicking through photos of painted street and DIY street furniture, he explained that this “guerrilla” form of urban design happens when residents take ownership of their shared environment, carrying out low-cost interventions that reimagine wasted public space for public good. Deep-diving into the idea, I came accross the movement’s green arm: guerrilla gardening. Cue LIGHTBULB MOMENT. This was the answer! But… The bulb shattered under a concrete question mark. How do I do it?
Now, when I say I had no idea what I was doing, I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t a gardener. I’d never planted, pruned, or propagated. I hadn’t sown a seed since Petri dish cress at school (and I’m pretty sure those didn’t make it far). I needed help. Guided by a belief in people power, I posted in three local groups (Nextdoor.co.uk, a mutual aid WhatsApp, and an eco-activism Facebook page) asking if anyone would like to join a guerrilla gardening community. Dozens of people replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!” I added everyone to a group chat, which was instantly buzzing with ideas. People hatched plans, swapped plants, shared advice, and turned dreams to schemes. Whoever could make it assembled on Sunday mornings, rain or shine, to plant what ever the season permitted. Buoyed by this lively ecosystem, I soon found my feet.
On a hunch that others might have the lightbulb moment I did, I started posting some of my guerrilla gardening efforts on TikTok. My second video (a seed bomb recipe) went viral, catapulting guerrilla gardening into a new generation’s consciousness. As I kept posting, and millions stopped to watch, I realised there was a vast, latent army of green guerrillas out there – a youthwave with the potential to reverse globa lgreyification. I was overjoyed! But they were apprehensive, asking the same thing I had: “How do I do it?”
So, I’ve spent the last three years working to a place where I can confidently answer that question, and give others a leg up. I’ve chatted to dozens of other botanical anarchists, acquired some qualifications, invested time in trowel and error, and founded Dream Green – a social enterprise that gets people guerrilla gardening with grants, guidance, and workshops. Finally, I felt able to create the manual I wish had existed when I was getting started. This is it. And I have a feeling my journey only really begins here, with all of you.
WHAT IS GUERRILLA GARDENING?
Guerrilla Gardening is growing plants in public places, in radically grassroots fashion.
GROWING PLANTS
Guerrilla gardening is about growing: adding to (not detracting from) the local ecosystem. How you do that is up to you! Whether you scatter native wildflower seeds onto a road verge, plant spring bulbs into a street tree bed, or turn a vacant lot into a community allotment, the aim is to transform the landscape from balding to bountiful. Unnecessary “weeding”, crop sabotage, and plant theft don’t cut the mustard.
PUBLIC PLACES
Cultivating your own private yard (or someone else’s) isn’t guerrilla gardening – even if you’re using seed bombs and repurposed pallets. From wide open squares to hidden back alleys, guerrilla gardeners plant in shared spaces, bringing nature to the heart of neighbourhoods in ways that can benefit all residents, including local wildlife.
RADICALLY GRASSROOTS
Growing plants in a public place isn’t always guerrilla gardening. The payrolled gardener tending your local park isn’t a guerrilla gardener; a council-run community garden isn’t a guerrilla garden. Why? The local authority has its finger in the pie, and can influence how (or even if) the garden grows. The “guerrilla” aspect comes from being truly grassroots: growing entirely from the ground up, without municipal influence or involvement. This means not going out of your way (or waiting around) for civic permission. Although every guerrilla garden is unique, one thing never changes: guerrilla gardening unites flower power and people power.
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7 Ps
Guerrilla gardening doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. You can grab a handful of seeds and scatter them in your wake. Job done. On the other hand, a universe of possibilities can open up once you know all the angles you can consider. So, if you want to dig deeper, read on. Here’s my “7 Ps” framework for creating a guerrilla garden:
PURPOSE Know your purpose
PLACE Find a place
PEOPLE Gather people
PLAN Craft a plan
PARTS Get the parts
PLANTING Do the planting
PROTECT Provide and protect
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