Take a leaf out of this superhero’s book!

You may have noticed already, but we love guerrilla gardeners and this one is no exception.

Covered in green foliage and resembling something from a Sci Fi movie, the self-styled Human Shrub, first emerged earlier this year when he protested againstColchester council’s plan to turf over the rose beds as a means of saving money. His protests were successful and the council reversed its decision to tear out and grass over one in five roadside flowerbeds in Colchester.

Since then the Human Shrub spends his free time replacing weeds with flowers to transform dormant plant containers, but don’t worry this doesn’t affect his family life as Colchester’s very own superhero doesn’t work alone, he brings his wife to work as well.

The husband and wife duo struck again this weekend when they organised a party of volunteer gardeners to descend on a scruffy patch of land to spruce up it up by weeding and planting donated shrubs and flowers.

Brilliant stuff!

>> Fancy helping the Human Shrub? To find out more join him on Facebook

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Incredible Edible Todmorden

We're inspired by the story of a whole town, Todmorden in West Yorkshire. Incredible Edible Todmorden is a scheme designed to increase the amount of locally grown food consumed in the town, by adopting public spaces and converting them to growing fruit, herbs and vegetables. All over the town planting is happening, on roundabouts, in carparks, around the station and health centre - even in the local graveyard!
The aim is to make Todmorden self-sufficient in vegetables by 2018. The whole town has embraced the scheme wholeheartedly including local schools and other institutions. The townspeople are all the time trying to find new places to grow produce. If you venture onto the platform at the railway station there are planters of herbs and commuters are invited to keep the weeds at bay while they wait for their trains and take a couple of sprigs for their dinner in return! News of the town's efforts has spread far and wide with media coverage in Italy and Canada cited on the town's website. Let's hope this inspires lots of similar schemes everywhere.
For more information on growing vegetables and the upsurge in allotments check out our website www.makeitandmendit.com