Access to green public spaces is so important, not only for people's wellbeing but for cooling cities, biodiversity etc. This is something I'm involved with through my day job - and something which needs to be talked about more, so it's always good to see folks writing about it! 🙌🏻
Yes 🙌 to more about public green spaces and the dreaded bindweed. I’ve set up a community group in my street in Brussels called Les Plantes Ici! We have just adopted 8 tree pits to plant and we are encouraging the residents to add climbing plants to their facades “green graffiti” to help reduce tags on buildings. We have a lot of hollyhocks in the area so I always grab seeds and spread the love when I’m out walking with the dogs.
Hello Jo, your pictures of the square in Bergamo rang a bell - in 2021 Nigel Dunnett designed the temporary planting there, with fantastic use of perennials.
My daughter (aged 7 now) and I do a bit of tiny guerrilla gardening each fall. We collect the seeds from our native butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, in our garden and take them to the local park and playground at the end of our street where we push them down into the soil in the hopes of spreading this beautiful host for monarch butterflies. The seeds are so whimsical and we laugh as we fail to control them all in the wind. Its very harmless and very minimal as far as guerrilla activities go.
Bergamo! One of my favourite places on earth. We would visit at least once a year in the late nineties/noughties. Amazing shoe and clothing shops, the best pastries anywhere in Italy and I loved panini tricolore at the cafe at the top of the funicolare! X
Do you know something about it that we don't, Jo??? I have just unearthed my letters home from the year I spent in France as part of my degree, and was reading an account of a trip I made to Italy and specifically Capri at Easter. We went up in the chairlift to Monte Solaro over a gorgeous landscape of spring flowers and vines. When I looked up the chairlift to see if it was still operational I found this "safety" description: " Children under 7 ride free on their parent's lap. The chairs on the chairlift are made for a single passenger. There is a safety bar, but it is easily lifted, so we do not recommend riding with very young or very active children on your lap."
No I never thought that but I am soo happy you will talk about this weed. We have it all around our garden and it seeds itself into our garden. I will read what ever it is you want to tell me about it! I am thinking of starting a war with it! 🤬
Whoa! That really was vertical almost the whole way! Thanks for posting the video, I felt as though I was there on the ride with you.
It was a bit of a hair-raising moment…
Access to green public spaces is so important, not only for people's wellbeing but for cooling cities, biodiversity etc. This is something I'm involved with through my day job - and something which needs to be talked about more, so it's always good to see folks writing about it! 🙌🏻
This sounds VERY interesting - I'd love to hear more about how you're involved
Yes 🙌 to more about public green spaces and the dreaded bindweed. I’ve set up a community group in my street in Brussels called Les Plantes Ici! We have just adopted 8 tree pits to plant and we are encouraging the residents to add climbing plants to their facades “green graffiti” to help reduce tags on buildings. We have a lot of hollyhocks in the area so I always grab seeds and spread the love when I’m out walking with the dogs.
Les Plantes Ici - fabulous!! Thank you, and I’ll start to think about how we can move some things ideas forward
Wonderful article, and yes, I'd be very interested in reading more about greening our cities. Let's start a Gardening Minds groundswell/lobby group!
I think there’s something we could do …. I’m just thinking of an idea of how to formulate ….
Terrible English! I mean I’m just working out a plan of how this could work
Hello Jo, your pictures of the square in Bergamo rang a bell - in 2021 Nigel Dunnett designed the temporary planting there, with fantastic use of perennials.
Here's a link:
https://www.nigeldunnett.com/bergamo-green-square/
He has done a lot of amazing city planting in Sheffield, notably around the university.
Yes, I was just coming on here to say that Nigel Dunnett's Bergamo planting was fantastic. I'm a great fan of his!
It was absolutely wonderful - thanks for the link, Lindsay
It's always great to hear about the design of public spaces🙂
More more more!
My daughter (aged 7 now) and I do a bit of tiny guerrilla gardening each fall. We collect the seeds from our native butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, in our garden and take them to the local park and playground at the end of our street where we push them down into the soil in the hopes of spreading this beautiful host for monarch butterflies. The seeds are so whimsical and we laugh as we fail to control them all in the wind. Its very harmless and very minimal as far as guerrilla activities go.
You're really raising a gardener/friend of nature, Jonathan!
That's just such a lovely image, Jonathan - do they ever grow there?
Bergamo! One of my favourite places on earth. We would visit at least once a year in the late nineties/noughties. Amazing shoe and clothing shops, the best pastries anywhere in Italy and I loved panini tricolore at the cafe at the top of the funicolare! X
You dared to go on it more than once? I nearly cried I was that scared….
🤣 It scared me to death, but yes, we braved it every time!
You're a braver man than me 🤣
Do you know something about it that we don't, Jo??? I have just unearthed my letters home from the year I spent in France as part of my degree, and was reading an account of a trip I made to Italy and specifically Capri at Easter. We went up in the chairlift to Monte Solaro over a gorgeous landscape of spring flowers and vines. When I looked up the chairlift to see if it was still operational I found this "safety" description: " Children under 7 ride free on their parent's lap. The chairs on the chairlift are made for a single passenger. There is a safety bar, but it is easily lifted, so we do not recommend riding with very young or very active children on your lap."
Definitely be interested in reading about public spaces. The square here looks so gorgeous - why don’t they do something permanently?
It would be lovely wouldn’t it? But I guess the historic nature of the square prevents anything permanent
No I never thought that but I am soo happy you will talk about this weed. We have it all around our garden and it seeds itself into our garden. I will read what ever it is you want to tell me about it! I am thinking of starting a war with it! 🤬
Excellent! Look out for Saturday!