Guerrilla Garden Seed Bombs

Seed bombs that people toss over fences into vacant lots and abandoned properties to grow wildflowers on neglected land are a form of unsanctioned civic design that I find both charming and effective. Made from clay, compost, and seeds compressed into a ball, the clay protects the seeds from birds and wind until the first rain dissolves the shell and the compost provides nutrients for germination. What I admire is the direct action quality of the practice because it bypasses the bureaucracy of public landscaping and puts planting decisions in the hands of neighbors who know which lots are unused and which corners would benefit from color. Results are unpredictable and that's part of the appeal, a patch of sunflowers might appear in a crack between buildings or a cluster of poppies might fill a roadside strip. Encountering an unplanned garden in an urban context creates a moment of delight that planned landscaping rarely achieves.