Walking down the street you suddenly notice a pavement tree surrounded by hollyhocks, and then, eyes opened, another with a pretty mixture of annuals. It's really heartening to see this cultivation of tiny oases of flowers in our streets. Apart from the pure pleasure of coming across such mini flower beds, they can act as sort of service stations or stepping stones for bees and other insects on their way to nearby parks and gardens.
Some councils have now stopped spraying pesticides locally so that these tiny plots and their insect visitors (not to mention humans) will not be poisoned. (Did you know your local council might be spraying glyphosate in your street?)
Two plantings in Camden : an autumn version of the hollyhock pit and a high summer mixture
Do look out for these tree pit mini-gardens - they are fun and good for our threatened wildlife and somebody has taken the trouble to plan, prepare, sow or plant and weed and water them for everybody's benefit. I delight in them.
I am happy to learn that Camden Council (my local) is one of those no longer spraying pesticides in local streets and that it has given permission for residents to sow seeds in tree pits. As these are private initiatives, they are much more interesting than normal council planting and as well as hollyhocks, I've seen salvias, asters, sunflowers, teasel, lavender, crocosmia, Japanese anemones, sarcococcas and many more, providing interest from spring right through autumn to winter.
Two from a street in Islington one filled with lavender the other with pretty annuals
It is a good idea to create an edge for any planting, to stop dogs and people from treading all over it and to keep the compost in place. Leave a space for the tree roots which need a little air and rain to get in.
Of course you could hire or buy a skip or an old bath, establish it in your street and fill it with plants but I imagine that would take rather a lot of official red tape (not to mention compost). Some people have managed it though.
Camden Pop Up Think and Do started as a way for local people to get together and work to combat climate change through different activities and initiatives, run by volunteers from local community groups. It has been offering free wildflower seeds to people who wanted to plant a tree-pit. To find out more about this scheme and all the other interesting Think and Do events and schemes contact https://www.thinkanddocamden.org.uk
The website Rewilding the City is a really good source of information on practical aspects of guerilla gardening including '3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Guerilla Gardening a Tree Pit': simple, informative and sensible: https://rewildingthecity.com
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