I get enquiries from all sorts of different media asking to come guerrilla gardening but it is rare they offer to pay for a lot of plants. This contribution came from a highly unlikely source: a TV show fronted by Noel Edmonds (a celebrity famous for fronting a gambling game show, inventing a pink monster called Mr Blobby and being an advocate of Cosmic Ordering). So I said yes and agreed to their help with a new dig in Scotland on the grounds that the suitable plot must be found by an active local guerrilla gardener who would be up for keeping the ‘fight for flowers’ going after we had left. I found the brilliant Clairwill 3163 who in turn found orphaned land in an historic district of Rennie Mackintosh’s birthplace. Word was put out on the Community page for local support and the TV people enlisted Gail Porter to bring some glamour and enthusiasm to what they feared might be rather dull dig. (perhaps because late in the preparations they sought approval from the local council). Thankfully permission was given, (the power of TV / cosmic ordering perhaps) but this also meant the presence of St Andrew’s Ambulance and a pair of security guards was needed. So it was quite unlike any other dig I’ve done, not guerrilla gardening but still a struggle against the urban wilderness. We uncovered some roses amongst the rampant green dogwood and planted Heuchera, Cyclamen, Vinca and Montbretia to tolerate the shady conditions. The dig began at 8pm but was not complete until past 2.30am, but gardening at this time enabled more people to turn up. Enlistment was fantastic. The local troops were not just pleased to be getting stuck into a dig but also for being triggered into finally getting together and share ideas for future projects. The film of the dig will be broadcast within Noel’s HQ on Sky 1 in the evening of Sunday 14 September 2008.

Gail Porter and troops

Clairwill 3163

Dr Wilson 3457

The morning after