viva chicago

well, it's been a little bit since the last dig.
here's the update:

I am over-ambitious and so when i originally said this would be a weekly effort, I got in over my head.
To remedy this, I knocked it down to a monthly event. much more affordable and attainable.

THAT said, I went on the June dig last night!
Josh, his totally awesome friend Keri and myself met up at the viva chicago mural (on Hubbard st at Carpenter) to plant some things. It was really hot out all day, but by 10 it had cooled off and was a beautiful night. With a generous donation of 10 dollars from my supervisor at Access Living I was able to buy some garden tools for this time around. It's a good thing, because this soil needed some tilling! it was hard and dry and lots of weeds.

We were also joined by a freelance journalist who is trying to publish a story on guerrilla gardening in the Chicago Reader. He was there asking questions the whole time, which made for interesting conversation (or really monologues..) but it was a good reminder to me of why i love this concept.

yes, it's fun. yes, flowers are pretty. but really guerrilla gardening to me is about a public service. i could garden all i want in my backyard (or tiny patio) but this is about spreading the love, getting together with a group of people and making a difference. it builds community with those I am gardening with and makes a statement to those that notice "hey, where did these flowers come from?" it raises community morale and it's so simple. every bit of land can be loved, even the forgotten plots, even the small plots. it all makes a difference!

anyway, below are the before and after pictures! check them out