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A review by crazyladybug
On Guerrilla Gardening: The Why, What, and How of Cultivating Neglected Public Space by Richard Reynolds
4.0
It’s nice to know that there are books about ever, including guerrilla gardening. Honestly the book is a 3.5 for me, rounded up to 4. I enjoyed the stories of all the guerrilla gardeners around the world and the wonderful gardens they have created. I also got inspiration about where I could plant and some plants that might work. It was also nice hearing about the steps to go through when starting a garden.
However I found some part irritating like the constant references to Mao, who was anything but a gardener. I also didn’t really see a point to half of the book being dedicated to convincing people of the merits of guerrilla gardening considering that most readers are already willing to garden outside of the law. This is a personal bias of mine but I wish the book focused more on the ecological impacts of guerrilla gardening be it positive or negative. By clearing out overgrown plots or gardening in the wild you are destroying wildlife habitats. Such was the case of one gardener who got rid of brambles who are hugely beneficial to wildlife. I also felt like there should have been a bigger focus on planting native plant species and avoiding invasives. At one point ivy was recommended. While ivy is great in Europe for covering walls and creative ground cover it’s very invasive in America and smothers native plants. Those aspects are mentioned but not enough and are easy to skip or ignore.
However I found some part irritating like the constant references to Mao, who was anything but a gardener. I also didn’t really see a point to half of the book being dedicated to convincing people of the merits of guerrilla gardening considering that most readers are already willing to garden outside of the law. This is a personal bias of mine but I wish the book focused more on the ecological impacts of guerrilla gardening be it positive or negative. By clearing out overgrown plots or gardening in the wild you are destroying wildlife habitats. Such was the case of one gardener who got rid of brambles who are hugely beneficial to wildlife. I also felt like there should have been a bigger focus on planting native plant species and avoiding invasives. At one point ivy was recommended. While ivy is great in Europe for covering walls and creative ground cover it’s very invasive in America and smothers native plants. Those aspects are mentioned but not enough and are easy to skip or ignore.