Sunday and Wednesday, we included some herbs (basil and lavender) to the garden, which I think really added something extra on top of the pre-existing garden. As we sat on our well, Inga and I imagined construction workers adding a bit of elegance to their cheese sandwiches.

If we do have a chance to continue working on this location or on similar project, I would like to think in terms of less superficial concepts (i.e. prettiness) and maybe focus on something like urban farming. I have been increasingly fascinated by urban and local farming/food projects like Eetbaar Rotterdam (Edible Rotterdam). Today I read about SPIN-Farming (S-mall P-lot IN-tensive), a platform for enabling small scale farming which could be interesting for us. Here is what they say on their website:

SPIN-Farming is a non-technical, easy-to-learn and inexpensive-to-implement vegetable farming system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land bases under an acre in size. Whether you are new to farming, or want to farm in a new way, SPIN can work for you because:

• Its precise revenue targeting formulas and organic-based techniques make it possible to gross $50,000+ from a half- acre.
• You don’t need to own land. You can affordably rent or barter a small piece of land adequate in size for SPIN-Farming production.
• It works in either the city, country or small town.
• It fits into any lifestyle or life cycle.

SPIN is being practiced by first generation farmers because it removes the two big barriers to entry – land and capital – as well as by established farmers who want to diversify or downsize, as well as by part-time hobby farmers.

The session on Sunday involved three tour groups from Parfum de BoemBoem as well as Parade visitors. To give a little background, Parfum de BoemBoem was started by the city of Rotterdam to promote construction sites around the city as more than barren and unreachable areas of the city. For several times during the year, these construction sites are opened to accommodate bike tours. These bike tours also feature special stopover activities such as greening the city or small concerts located on different construction sites. After a few hours of gardening with the bike tourists, we joined them to watch Spinvis play against the backdrop of rebar and concrete.

On Wednesday, we recruited children from the children’s Parade to add to the garden. It was a perfect day for gardening, and we were happy to provide one free activity for passerbys.

Check out more of Inga’s pictures on Picasa.

On Sunday the 14th, from around 2:00-6:00, we will be leading two groups of tours in expanding our garden. People from the Parade are also welcome to join in the fun while Spinvis plays live a few meters away.

Our garden layout was centered around the concept of ‘wishing well.’ There was a construction element on site that looked like a well. This special object was the center from which our flowers and plants cascaded outward. Browsing around Flickr, I found other guerrilla gardeners using a similar element in their garden construction ;]

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andere mensen aan het genieten

Hier een paar fotos die ik heb gemaakt…
more photos to come!

Als je mooie fotos hebt gemaakt, stuur ze op of stuur een link naar: shaunajin@gmail.com

Bij de gidsenbalie

Ons interview met Radio Rijmond

Onze planten in een bakfiets

Planten

Op de hoek van Boijmans en de bouwplaats is een klein hoekje en daar komt het tuintje te staan. Het tuintje blijft een aantal weken, maar we weten niet precies hoe lang. Daarom hebben we nog een aantal bollen gekocht (+- 100) en nog iets en die dachten we langs Boijmans het park in te planten aan de zijkant als een soort rij die sowieso blijft..

We gaan om 13.00 uur verzamelen en dan vertrekken we met ongeveer 20 bezoekers met een rijdende kast en een fietskar vol met bloemen naar het plekje.. Ook zijn we gewapend met schepjes, harkjes, metalen schoppen, harken, handschoenen en gieters met limonade.

Bedankt naar Groen Links Rotterdam! We hebben dankzij de sponsoring van Arno (Groen Links) en het budget vanuit Motel nu voor 200 euro aan bloemen!!

From Facebook:

The third annual event for guerrilla gardeners around the world to get out there and sow sunflower seeds in their neighbourhood. All you need are the seeds, something to poke a hole 2cm in the ground and a bit of imagination.

Launched by the Brussels’ Farmers in 2007
http://brussels-farmer.blogspot.com/ and championed by http://www.GuerrillaGardening.org this year should be a bigger planting event than ever! More people are feeling the urge to make a positive contribution to their local environment and have some fun at the same time.

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a beacon of the potential in our land. Not only do they boldly beautify space but also to make it productive too as a favourite with wildlife across the urban jungle.

Make a plan for May 1 to meet somewhere public at 8pm (your local time) with seeds, tools and a location or route of neglected land. Post your ideas on the wall of this event or on your local COMMUNITY pages of GuerrillaGardening.org.

And hey, there’s really no need to wait until May 1 across much of the world, it’s fine to be planting sunflower from now, or indeed most other hardy annuals!

Tips about planting are here: http://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggsunflower.html

Waneer? Tijdens Motel Mozaique, April 11…

foto: onze Lisa in de tuin met mama…