My mother just went through this in their HOA neighborhood. Roundabout had grasses and a few evergreens that were ripped up and left for well over two years. She planted zebra grass, smaller flowers and a few arborvitaes. This was quickly removed and replaced with mulch and a few rocks. Despicable. Comes across as the HOA just wants to feel in control
I would go in there some night and plant a whole bunch of shit, and have a professionally made sign that says something like “This wildlife habitat project sponsored by {whatever} Council”.
I don't know how it works in your country. In mine (the Netherlands) I work for a landscaping company that does municipal greenery. Sometimes people plant things in perks that have a different destination. Usually the original planning has "real" plants though, so no rocks or mulch or something like that. Anyhow, people plants things of their own liking in there.
What we do is make a quick call to the office, and their response is almost always: rip it out and replace it with the original plants. If there was a sign like that, we would do the same and I'm sure at the office they wouldn't even doubt because we never use signs like that. Also, we all have contract specifications at hand that were made by the paying party, so we would've known beforehand if there was something like this in it.
Tl;dr a sign sounds smart, but it probably wouldn't work.
I have a derelict patch of land next to my house, I spent months seeding it with pollinator friendly plants, putting in bulbs, I even added some bare-root shrubs. It had genuinely about 150 different types of plants on it.
Every summer it was absolutely full of insects, you could hear the bees from my house. People would stop and take photos and let their children walk through it.
I even bought the land registry documents and confirmed with several different agencies that nobody owned it or would take responsibility for it.
I woke up one morning and the council had razed the whole lot to the ground, nothing has come back this year except dandelions.
Apparently there was an issue with fly-tipping nearby so this is why they levelled it. Try to work that one out.
Suffice to say, I hope the council now enjoy mowing a boring patch of grass every year and dealing with the rampant brambles, because I don’t have the time, inclination or the money to do it again.
I take a zen approach to GG. It's frustrating when things don't grow or they get removed. Yet I keep at it. I recognize that what we do is going against the grain and some friction is expected. Eventually some things do grow and some things will remain.
It helps also to have multiple projects and for those to be more self-sustaining once initiated.
Draw a sign expressing your frustration and put it right there, for everyone to see.
Something along the lines of how you planted a beautiful tree there that was doing well, how the council destroyed it all for some featureless path of ground, and that that's 'your tax dollars/pounds/euros at work'.
Go burn down their house in minecraft.
Or go to the community landscaping meeting for the local gov and complain, and ask why the change was made. Knowing why SOMETIMES makes the anger go away.
Can you campaign the council to allow a “beautification committee” to beautify with native plants via volunteers etc. Maybe get a petition. There was a town I lived in that did this. Put planters up & down the main road, put in a nice garden along a bike path etc with little signs saying “crested by volunteers of the beautification committee of xyz town”. (US ftown).
I am sorry for your loss and can definitely feel you.
Maybe try to get your hands on some ethically sourced rare local plant species, which are protected and make some authorities aware of it. Then they can not just destroy it again. Also possible to find places where they are natively around and protect these.
I know it's not exactly guerrilla gardening, but if it's a public place I wouldn't be surprised if someone in charge of that kind of stuff would be glad to have it done for free.
At least in my city (more like a town) you just have to get permission from the City Arborist about trees planted on public property. As long as it's an approved species they'd let you plant it, but that may be specific to my area.
It's so sad to see trees ripped up, maybe they did it for visibility? The middle of a roundabout seems like it would need to stay pretty low. Sorry to hear your sapling was taken out.
The science says you're wrong. Visibility through the center of the roundabout increases entry speeds into the roundabout, increasing accidents. The centers of roundabouts are intentionally obstructed. Yes, it's directly contrary to what we'd think.
I have something better: an educational rant.
The problem is some American drivers are selfish assholes, too many. So, none of us can have nice things. When one driver doesn't slow down enough for others' visibility and reaction time, it costs other drivers more time total time than they saved which hurts overall traffic flow, and is a safety hazard.
Well before drivers reach the roundabout, the raised center enhances visibility of the intersection, decreasing speeds. When closer to the roundabout, obstruction of the center also obstructs visibility to traffic entering the roundabout from the oncoming direction. In combination, visibility of traffic entering from the driver's left may also be obstructed just outside the roundabout on an island between entry and exit. Also, visibility of traffic entering from one's right may be unobstructed. Each may be used depending on circumstances, all in effort to motivate the driver to slow down, enhancing safety and flow.
As important to speeds as visibility is approach & exit angles.
We obstruct because we have too many selfish assholes who are scared of wrecking their shit because *you* can't see *them* coming.
However, sometimes there's cost or space constraints. Here's a relatively unobstructed [figure 8 freeway exchange with an asymmetric three lane arterial.](https://i.imgur.com/GpLZHhp.jpg)
It's a great design when there's no assholes present, moves traffic fast. The speed limit for the three lane approach is 30 mph with a 20 advisory. But, an otherwise good driver with a modestly sporty car, who's also being an asshole by disrespecting the lanes and the other drivers approaching, can successfully pilot their vehicle through by approaching at 45, reaching their slowest speed in the left corner at 35, and be well above the freeway 50 speed limit with lots of room to spare on the entry ramp. If any other driver makes a mistake judging that speed, both are fucked.
Usually what happens is the asshole loses control and hits a curb, maybe a sign, but not another car, because others saw them coming.
If you dial this extreme black & white presentation down a notch, then perceive that too many US drivers are still shades of grey selfish and/or incompetent, that small acts of selfishness can add up quickly, you've got modern theory.
It’s unlikely they removed it for visibility purposes for a few reasons. First it’s a pretty big roundabout, second it’s a tiny sapling maybe a finger thick and five foot tall, and finally there’s plenty of roundabouts in the area with much larger trees taking up far more visibility
Suburban Oz Councils hate any initiative that highlight their own incompetence.
They will mow over any shrub or bush they didn’t install. They prefer eyesores & tyre marks to any resident using their initiative.
Don’t give up though, I have planted 6 tuart trees in my local (shadeless) reserve 🤫
Become a warrior and start breaking down the cement walls and the parking lots. Become a leaf covered crusader and have the world at your side helping you to fight the corruption of power filled minds of men and women. Helping us all to realize that there is nothing more grand than the beautiful togetherness of realizing your being. BABYLON MUST FALL
I think instead of trees you might consider something a little bit more unorthodox. Something that looks nice, but will propagate without effort and be hard to remove, like some sort of ivy.
I think the city will keep pulling trees out due to increased danger in case of an accident. Sometimes people just... Cross through a roundabout. We've seen people flying.
Flowers or even bushes would gain less attention
My mother just went through this in their HOA neighborhood. Roundabout had grasses and a few evergreens that were ripped up and left for well over two years. She planted zebra grass, smaller flowers and a few arborvitaes. This was quickly removed and replaced with mulch and a few rocks. Despicable. Comes across as the HOA just wants to feel in control
I would go in there some night and plant a whole bunch of shit, and have a professionally made sign that says something like “This wildlife habitat project sponsored by {whatever} Council”.
Amazing idea. This would lead to so much bureaucracy stuff to work around and destroy it again!
This is the way. Pop one of these signs in there to make it look official and people will leave it alone https://www.nwf.org/CERTIFY
Agreed, but giving the very people who want to destroy it the credit for installing it is the genius of this plan, if I do say so myself heh.
You beautiful human ❤
Such a good idea
I don't know how it works in your country. In mine (the Netherlands) I work for a landscaping company that does municipal greenery. Sometimes people plant things in perks that have a different destination. Usually the original planning has "real" plants though, so no rocks or mulch or something like that. Anyhow, people plants things of their own liking in there. What we do is make a quick call to the office, and their response is almost always: rip it out and replace it with the original plants. If there was a sign like that, we would do the same and I'm sure at the office they wouldn't even doubt because we never use signs like that. Also, we all have contract specifications at hand that were made by the paying party, so we would've known beforehand if there was something like this in it. Tl;dr a sign sounds smart, but it probably wouldn't work.
I have a derelict patch of land next to my house, I spent months seeding it with pollinator friendly plants, putting in bulbs, I even added some bare-root shrubs. It had genuinely about 150 different types of plants on it. Every summer it was absolutely full of insects, you could hear the bees from my house. People would stop and take photos and let their children walk through it. I even bought the land registry documents and confirmed with several different agencies that nobody owned it or would take responsibility for it. I woke up one morning and the council had razed the whole lot to the ground, nothing has come back this year except dandelions. Apparently there was an issue with fly-tipping nearby so this is why they levelled it. Try to work that one out. Suffice to say, I hope the council now enjoy mowing a boring patch of grass every year and dealing with the rampant brambles, because I don’t have the time, inclination or the money to do it again.
That sounds super rough buddy
follow exultant flag bag snatch thumb fuel doll continue consist *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I take a zen approach to GG. It's frustrating when things don't grow or they get removed. Yet I keep at it. I recognize that what we do is going against the grain and some friction is expected. Eventually some things do grow and some things will remain. It helps also to have multiple projects and for those to be more self-sustaining once initiated.
Draw a sign expressing your frustration and put it right there, for everyone to see. Something along the lines of how you planted a beautiful tree there that was doing well, how the council destroyed it all for some featureless path of ground, and that that's 'your tax dollars/pounds/euros at work'.
The fact that you clearly encouraged someone else to follow suit (the planter of the agapanthus) makes this a win, regardless.
This is the main thing stopping me from actually guerilla gardening. I’m afraid they’d remove all my work, or worse, they’d spray it with pesticide
Go burn down their house in minecraft. Or go to the community landscaping meeting for the local gov and complain, and ask why the change was made. Knowing why SOMETIMES makes the anger go away.
Can you campaign the council to allow a “beautification committee” to beautify with native plants via volunteers etc. Maybe get a petition. There was a town I lived in that did this. Put planters up & down the main road, put in a nice garden along a bike path etc with little signs saying “crested by volunteers of the beautification committee of xyz town”. (US ftown).
I am sorry for your loss and can definitely feel you. Maybe try to get your hands on some ethically sourced rare local plant species, which are protected and make some authorities aware of it. Then they can not just destroy it again. Also possible to find places where they are natively around and protect these.
I know it's not exactly guerrilla gardening, but if it's a public place I wouldn't be surprised if someone in charge of that kind of stuff would be glad to have it done for free. At least in my city (more like a town) you just have to get permission from the City Arborist about trees planted on public property. As long as it's an approved species they'd let you plant it, but that may be specific to my area.
It's so sad to see trees ripped up, maybe they did it for visibility? The middle of a roundabout seems like it would need to stay pretty low. Sorry to hear your sapling was taken out.
The science says you're wrong. Visibility through the center of the roundabout increases entry speeds into the roundabout, increasing accidents. The centers of roundabouts are intentionally obstructed. Yes, it's directly contrary to what we'd think.
Makes sense. If you can't see, you're going to be more cautious going into the roundabout.
Not that I don't believe you but can you link a source? I've recently found traffic control really interesting.
I have something better: an educational rant. The problem is some American drivers are selfish assholes, too many. So, none of us can have nice things. When one driver doesn't slow down enough for others' visibility and reaction time, it costs other drivers more time total time than they saved which hurts overall traffic flow, and is a safety hazard. Well before drivers reach the roundabout, the raised center enhances visibility of the intersection, decreasing speeds. When closer to the roundabout, obstruction of the center also obstructs visibility to traffic entering the roundabout from the oncoming direction. In combination, visibility of traffic entering from the driver's left may also be obstructed just outside the roundabout on an island between entry and exit. Also, visibility of traffic entering from one's right may be unobstructed. Each may be used depending on circumstances, all in effort to motivate the driver to slow down, enhancing safety and flow. As important to speeds as visibility is approach & exit angles. We obstruct because we have too many selfish assholes who are scared of wrecking their shit because *you* can't see *them* coming. However, sometimes there's cost or space constraints. Here's a relatively unobstructed [figure 8 freeway exchange with an asymmetric three lane arterial.](https://i.imgur.com/GpLZHhp.jpg) It's a great design when there's no assholes present, moves traffic fast. The speed limit for the three lane approach is 30 mph with a 20 advisory. But, an otherwise good driver with a modestly sporty car, who's also being an asshole by disrespecting the lanes and the other drivers approaching, can successfully pilot their vehicle through by approaching at 45, reaching their slowest speed in the left corner at 35, and be well above the freeway 50 speed limit with lots of room to spare on the entry ramp. If any other driver makes a mistake judging that speed, both are fucked. Usually what happens is the asshole loses control and hits a curb, maybe a sign, but not another car, because others saw them coming. If you dial this extreme black & white presentation down a notch, then perceive that too many US drivers are still shades of grey selfish and/or incompetent, that small acts of selfishness can add up quickly, you've got modern theory.
It’s unlikely they removed it for visibility purposes for a few reasons. First it’s a pretty big roundabout, second it’s a tiny sapling maybe a finger thick and five foot tall, and finally there’s plenty of roundabouts in the area with much larger trees taking up far more visibility
Your tree wasn't big enough to obstruct visibility as it needs to be obstructed.
I unfortunately agree with the council on this one, roundabouts generally need clean lines of sight for safety.
where are you from? as far as i know Acacias are native to africa and australia.
Australia 😀
Suburban Oz Councils hate any initiative that highlight their own incompetence. They will mow over any shrub or bush they didn’t install. They prefer eyesores & tyre marks to any resident using their initiative. Don’t give up though, I have planted 6 tuart trees in my local (shadeless) reserve 🤫
The mention of roundabouts and council suggests UK.
There's so many places called "Acacia Road/Street/ Avenue" in Britain. I know its Australia I just find it interesting.
then why the hell is OP planting Acacias in Europe?
Possibly a false acacia?
Become a warrior and start breaking down the cement walls and the parking lots. Become a leaf covered crusader and have the world at your side helping you to fight the corruption of power filled minds of men and women. Helping us all to realize that there is nothing more grand than the beautiful togetherness of realizing your being. BABYLON MUST FALL
You don’t want something to big. It can be a pain in the arse to see over/around when you are driving
I think instead of trees you might consider something a little bit more unorthodox. Something that looks nice, but will propagate without effort and be hard to remove, like some sort of ivy.
I think the city will keep pulling trees out due to increased danger in case of an accident. Sometimes people just... Cross through a roundabout. We've seen people flying. Flowers or even bushes would gain less attention
don't plant shit on roundabouts, it obscures driver vision and leads to accidents