Do you know what guerrilla gardening is? It is the efforts by people to grow something on land that they do not own and
without permission to do so. What is grown is either something to beautify, to eat, and/or to build community. It’s been around for decades under this name; it was probably called something else before the current itineration. You might be aware of the efforts of people like Ron Finley, who transformed the grassy areas around sidewalks into small gardens in his South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. And then he got into legal trouble with the city. He’s fine, it’s fine, it all worked out and he went on to do much more. You can read about Ron Finley and other gardeners in “The Kinfolk Garden” by John Burns. Not all of the gardeners in this book are activists but they each are passionate about sharing their love of green spaces.
Just a reminder that there are laws about respecting other people’s property and I want to make this very clear: the Daniel Boone Regional Library is NOT suggesting that you plant sunflowers on other people’s property, on city or county property, or anywhere else unless you have permission to do so. Does the neighbor down the road have a fence row that would look great with some sunflowers cheerfully bobbing their heads? Ask before you plant, or gift them a packet of seeds.
I could not resist telling you about this upcoming holiday. Sunflowers are cheerful, right?
“International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, started in Brussels in 2007 and celebrated on May 1st annually, exists as an international awareness day for guerrilla gardening, where gardeners around the world plant sunflowers in places perceived to be neglected. Sunflowers are hardy and can survive heat and drought, resist common diseases, and improve soil quality by removing certain contaminants.” –The Greenhouse Blog
And instead of any guerrilla gardening, let’s take a dive into some of the books we have about gorillas as well as sunflowers. (These are the books in our collections that contain both, says our catalog).
In “Forty Chances,” Howard G. Buffett opens one of his stories with a visit to the mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The story unrolls to introduce Emmanuel de Merode, director of the national park, protector of the gorillas, a supporter of small businesses to improve people’s lives, director of a force of dedicated rangers who keep the guerrillas from intruding on the park, and builder of a gorilla tourism business. Guerillas were killing off the mountain gorillas to try to end the tourism business which was perceived to interfere with the guerillas’ illegal use of the park. So a book with a few mentions of both gorillas and guerrillas, which satisfies the criteria of my writing.
“he Secret History” by Joe Pappalardo has surprising stories of how sunflowers have featured in many aspects of modern history. Sunflowers have figured into the stories of NASA and of Hitler. Pappalardo shares stories of sunflower-loving people meeting in Fargo and Russia. A clever tell-all of how sunflowers have “colored the narrative of human history for the past thousand years,” (from the book jacket).
I do not remember when Dian Fossey was found murdered but I remember reading about it when her book, “Gorillas in the Mist,” came out as a film starring
Sigourney Weaver. Which, interestingly enough, also features violent guerrillas… what a world… For another account of Fossey, read “A Forest in the Clouds” by John Fowler, who worked as an undergraduate worked at the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda.
“Green Places in Small Spaces” by Kerwin Fischer introduces you to what I call patchwork gardening. A small corner edged and turned over for four cabbages and a number of marigolds. A raised bed of strawberries by the gate. Pots lining the sidewalk and on the porch providing herbs and a stunning tomato plant latticed to climb high. Fischer gives you creative ways to find and utilize small areas in your living space and practical advice for keeping everything healthy.
With “Rafiki: An Unlikely Friendship with a Mountain Gorilla,” David D. Minier shared his experiences in Kisoro, Uganda, especially his relationship with one of the great silverback males. Rafiki was initially observed when he was seen making friends with the primary silverback of the Nkuringo group, also known as Nkuringo. Rafiki rose to become the primary silverback of his group but remained friendly, enjoying a friendship with Minier and even learning to communicate with some basic sign language.
I hope you are tempted to learn more about sunflowers or about gorillas after reading this post. It would have gone on and on; I didn’t even touch on Vincent Van Gogh‘s work or the shelves of general gardening books you can find in our libraries.
If you are inspired to look for a place to garden, please remember that our communities have several ways you can secure a gardening spot that can be yours. One great resource in Columbia and Boone County would be the Community Gardening Coalition which also has a wonderful resource list for the beginning gardener. In Callaway County, two excellent resources include the Fulton Garden Club which works to stimulate the knowledge and the love of gardening, and the Callaway County Masters’ Garden program.
My sunflowers are getting planted in an area I’ve been working to improve for a couple of years but the soil is still horridly clayish. I believe it started as backfill from when the home was built. We would love to hear about it if you also plant sunflowers on May 1. Drop me a note in the comments (don’t include your email address or home address in the comment for your own privacy, please) and I’ll reach out privately in a couple of months to see if I can get pictures.
