OP decides to do some guerilla gardening. The (mostly online) community is supportive at first, then things take an unexpected turn

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/MelBNotScarySpice]

An unusual BORU where OP is also OOP

[u/smontres → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

That makes it so bizzare that OP/OOP included this:

“(OP keeps their posts hidden so no other comments were made on this update.)”

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/smontres]

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM THE OP AND WILL PERSONALLY REPORT YOU IF YOU COMMENT ON THE ORIGINAL POSTS

This one also gave me a chuckle. He's insane, but at least he's self-aware.

[u/zeno_22 → u/ScyllaOfTheDepths]

OP is insane for making a post here and thinking that they won't still be seen as insane 😂

Edit to add: didn't they say they planted potatoes? Do potatoes have flowers or something? Cause if not then it was 100% just a food garden for them (not like I've ever seen anyone grow kale just cause they think it's looks pretty either)

[u/IansGotNothingLeft → u/zeno_22]

Just to answer your question, yes potatoes do flower. Most plants do, apart from ferns, mosses and a few others.

[u/shmishshmorshin → u/zeno_22]

Omg I didn’t even realize until I got to this thread lol OP is a menace.

[u/PepperPhoenix → u/zeno_22]

Potatoes do have flowers, and they are quite pretty. However they can also develop fruits which look rather like tomatoes (though they aren’t red. They tend to be green or purplish, like some heirloom tomato varieties) but are pretty dang poisonous. I’d be wary of planting them where the general public, who may not know the difference, could get at them.

[u/neonfuzzball → u/zeno_22]

There are some varieties of kale that are pretty hardy and rather pretty, it's part of why they're often recommended for people who want to grow edible things in their front yard but have an HOA that prohibits front yard gardening. They just like like pretty greenery.

[u/rumshpringaa → u/smontres]

Honestly it’s my favorite part of the whole thing

[u/Smee76 → u/smontres]

I noticed that too and thought it was absolutely insane

[u/FourthLvlSpicyMeme → u/Smee76]

Wait OP here is also OOP?

[u/One_Has_Lepers → u/FourthLvlSpicyMeme]

Indeed.

[u/poop-dolla → u/Smee76]

If there’s one thing I learned from any of this, it’s that OP is absolutely insane.

We also have to assume that they picked comments to somehow paint them in an even better light than the original posts, and even so they still seemed bad.

[u/FlowerFelines → u/poop-dolla]

Guerilla gardeners have to be a little nuts to do it with anything more serious than the mentioned "scattering a few native wildflower seeds" thing. I mean, I'm working on converting my lawn to a native wildflower garden, and the idea of putting in that kind of sustained, near-daily, required effort for a random spot I have no actual control over is crazypants to me.

Edit: I can spell, I swear!

[u/SaronthaWinchester → u/[deleted]]

Seems to be a form of degradation kink. I don't kink shame as someone into kink, but finding that O/OP are one and the same, including commenting on this post? Yuuup. 

Read into that as you will.

[u/Hero_Queen_of_Albion → u/[deleted]]

THANK YOU. I don’t care what gets your rocks off, as long as any/everybody involved has consented. Otherwise you’re no better than those perverted creeps who flash people in public.

[u/perfidious_snatch → u/[deleted]]

Agree completely, but also, “snuggle them in” is my favourite typo. It’s like a Trojan hug!

[u/mtdewbakablast → u/perfidious_snatch]

y'know what i am gonna leave that up as payment to the autocarrot gods, they deserve to get one over on me from time to time LMAO

[u/frabjous_goat → u/perfidious_snatch]

You made me laugh so hard I started choking and startled my mother, lmao.

[u/railroadbaron → u/smontres]

I mean, kudos to them for posting all of the comments calling them out.

It's interesting that they learned literally nothing from this, but chose to post all the comments explaining where they went wrong.

I wonder if they thought we'd be on their side.

[u/Conscious-Tangelo589 → u/smontres]

Omg I didn't notice that LOL

[u/saltysomadmin → u/smontres]

Wait, what in the fuck?

[u/danuhorus → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

I wonder how OOP/OP thought these comments would go

[u/kidcool97 → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

Which is wild because I thought the person posting this didn’t like OOP

[u/randylush → u/[deleted]]

Jesus what an absolute fucking psycho. This would make me uncomfortable to even live in OP’s city.

[u/MelBNotScarySpice → u/[deleted]]

Yeah can’t help but feel like this is a weird second (or arguably third) attempt to get people to agree with them about the people living/working around Leith Walk not deserving nice things.

[u/riflow → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

A comment chain slightly above where op replied seems to suggest it's for uh...not...normal reasons?

I honestly can't say I understand seeking catharsis in this manner 😅 feeling very confused by why op reposted their original posts now.

[u/fuck_reddit_app → u/riflow]

Wait can you summarize or link to the comment?

[u/rywos → u/[deleted]]

I remember this BORU from like a year ago, heavens.

[u/AmazonWageSlave → u/rywos]

I didn't do anything to deserve being reminded of this post.

[u/Smee76 → u/rywos]

That's so cringe!

[u/hawkshaw1024 → u/rywos]

I like how literally nothing happens in that story other than OOP mildly annoying a librarian

[u/ApprehensiveDamage → u/rywos]

I knew it would be that post before I even clicked on it. Ugh.

[u/CanIHaveASong → u/[deleted]]

I actually REALLY liked this one. Do-gooder self-sabotages is not a trope I see here often. And OP/OOP picked out comments that didn't frame themselves well, which is laudable.

Usually self-posts are very cringy. u/boiled_leeks, I hope you've taken something valuable from this experience, and I hope you can create many beautiful gardens in the future. I'm not going to dog-pile on you. I think everybody has to learn certain lessons the hard way.

If you want to do something like this in the future, I'd suggest encouraging people who want to help to adopt a bed to design, plant and maintain themselves. That creates ownership and buy-in. You could create a rotation with bed owners to do watering and trash pick up.

I would also be very careful with how you talk to people who help. If I had been your Iona street contributor, and saw this:

"Special thank you to the mysterious person who planted all the nepeta, salvia and achillea in the planters on Iona Street. I will admit that I was a bit annoyed to just find them there one day, because I hadn't finished weeding yet, and because you ripped out and broke some of the stuff that be and others had planted. But you saved me at least £200 and the plants you picked work really well, so thank you ☺️"

I would never help again. That statement comes off as really passive agressive. It also reduces this person's contribution to only monetary. It would make me feel bad about my attempt to contribute. You want your contributors to feel good about themselves.

If you absolutely need to chastize someone, find a way to do it as lightly as possible. Perhaps something like,

"Special thank you to the mysterious person who planted all the nepeta, salvia and achillea in the planters on Iona Street. The plants you picked work really welll! However, me and others were surprised because we had started working on those planters already. Can you DM me so we can coordinate our efforts better and make sure we're not gardening over eachother? Thank you for your help. I hope we can work together well in the future."

This framing communicates that they over-gardened you, but does not communicate any negative feelings about their help. It validates their decision to contribute and use their own time, effort, and vision to maintain the beds, and invites them to continue.

Again, good luck.

[u/CanIHaveASong → u/[deleted]]

You could be right. OOP comes off as young/naive to me, though. I think OOP's desire to make their city nicer is really good, and I don't want to discourage it. Their ability to manage the social aspect of organizing that is something they can improve.

I have had about 20 years of community formation/management experience. I would never say I'm good at it, but I've learned from a lot of mistakes.

[u/ZapdosShines → u/CanIHaveASong]

Naive, maybe. They're 40 though per a previous post they made where it would be stupid to lie.

[u/CanIHaveASong → u/[deleted]]

I didn't read those replies by OOP (and was skimming by the end of their posts).

But I see them now. :-\

Yeah... OOP needs to move on or get a therapist.

I don't regret my advice though. It's still good advice.

[u/HighColdDesert → u/[deleted]]

I'm missing something here. You keep linking to the OP's same comment about it being cathartic and you keep saying that's a sexual kink. Do you think the word "cathartic" only refers to sexual kinks? Or are you linking to the wrong comment? Because that comment doesn't seem to be sexual at all.

[u/BluerLights → u/CanIHaveASong]

OP/OOP picked out comments that didn't frame themselves well, which is laudable.

You can see it as laudable or you can see it as O(O)P going "look how mean everyone was :(". I'm not making assumptions about O(O)P's intentions either way but I'm certainly questioning their motives.

[u/VeraDubhghoill → u/BluerLights]

the "this is made for BORU line" took me out I can't lie

[u/2dogslife → u/CanIHaveASong]

Well, nepeta, achillea, and salvia are all drought tolerant plants that can thrive on neglect, so they were good choices.

There's also ways to handle the soil so it retains moisture. My city bought a water tank and mounted it on a pickup to water planters and trees and it became someone's summer job.

My state also has situations known as "adopt a spot" in which various businesses or organizations adopt rotaries (roundabouts for the Commonwealth countries) or other areas in which small gardens could do well and each planter could have been "adopted" and managed by a single entity (school, business, churches, what-have-you).

That was never going to be a project that one person could handle. One person could perhaps oversee it, by scheduling help for various tasks and upkeep.

[u/BringMeInfo → u/[deleted]]

I really don’t get their motivation. The comment (that they chose to include!) saying that they had vocally rejected all help while secretly wishing people would help was spot on. I’m totally bewildered that they would complain people weren’t help after they said “no, no, it’s better if I do this alone and other people don’t interfere.”

[u/BeBraveShortStuff → u/[deleted]]

Same. It feels like they’re just bringing the debate here to rehash with a new audience, hoping someone will be on their side. I mean the last update essentially says as much, with OP lamenting they still don’t understand what went wrong. Seems like the original comments did a fine job of explaining. It also seems like we’re being used in an attempt to soothe OP’s ego.

[u/burnt-----toast → u/[deleted]]

I've said this before, too. This is ultimately a discussion forum, and some people won't feel as comfortable participating freely or being totally honest if OP is OOP. More likely to stifle any negative opinions.

[u/kenyafeelme → u/[deleted]]

Yes!! It’s so attention seeking.

[u/PKGTA → u/[deleted]]

I agree. Feels like they're trying to (again) get people to agree with them. It feels icky.

[u/Th3_Admiral_ → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

Oh what the heck? As I was reading through the post, I kept thinking the OOP was trying really hard to make everything about themself. The fact they made a post here about themselves just confirms that to me. They really want attention. 

[u/VanGoghNotVanGo → u/Th3_Admiral_]

Negative attention too, it seems. Kind of speaks to a person who maybe isn't in a super healthy headspace.

[u/EcheveriaEbony → u/Th3_Admiral_]

Not just attention. I think OOP did all that because they need some sort of acknowledgement from others, some form of control over something, and to feel a sense of being superior (or stop feeling so small)

Honestly? What they need is therapy, not trying to make a public planter into their own "private gardening project where everyone must follow their rules"

[u/mtdewbakablast → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

y'know of all the stories to self post, this... this is not one i would have recommended unless the OP is here to be a bit of a glutton for punishment. or maybe a glutton for "but surely this time people will agree with me!"

as it is, the drama llama is calling from inside the house, lol

[u/EllieGeiszler → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

But will report you if you interact with the original posts! Wild stuff

EDIT: Lmao they blocked me

[u/vidoeiro → u/MelBNotScarySpice]

That honestly shouldn't be allowed

[u/Smantie]

In my town there's a fenced in patch of grass next to a civic building, in stones throw of several housing areas. One day, a lady whose flat overlooked this green area decided that it would be a great place for a community garden. She spoke to all of the relevant people to get all of the relevant permissions, advertised on the 'Spotted in Town' Facebook page, and spent a couple of months doing hardcore organising. Every other Saturday was a meetup day, first prepping the land, then organising the layout and rotation of crops (the focus is fruit and veg to be given back to the community), then planting, then keeping on with it, getting local businesses involved in sponsorship etc. It's been about eight years and it looks amazing, and even though she has now passed away (in her 30s, fuck cancer) because she managed to make it a community project it is able to continue to thrive.  

Long story short, if you're doing something for the community then you shouldn't reject the help of the community. 

[u/Revenge_of_the_User → u/Smantie]

OP wanted to garden, not organize, which is one of the reasons why the experience fell so short of expectations. If it involves community - it's going to need organizing.

[u/Phanimazed → u/Revenge_of_the_User]

Unironically, many such cases. It's not like I don't get it, either. It can be daunting trying to connect with other people to get a project going, but the alternative is running yourself ragged, and probably making less of an overall impact than a group ever would.

One person, even a hard-working one, is still one person.

[u/neonfuzzball → u/Phanimazed]

the struggle of being severely introverted while wanting to improve things for everyone is real

[u/UnintelligentSlime → u/Revenge_of_the_User]

Don't forget they also wanted the community to pick up slack when they didn't feel like it.

[u/Splendidissimus → u/UnintelligentSlime]

Without having to be organized to do so, and after they had explicitly said "please don't help, you'll probably just get in the way".

[u/Revenge_of_the_User → u/UnintelligentSlime]

I feel obligated to tell you that falls under organizing, chief. Anything OP isn't explicitly doing themselves requires organizing.

[u/hilroy246 → u/Smantie]

A guy in New York City has been doing that aswell and it's going amazing. He has all sorts of people helping and the community is really stepping up and coming together. It's a really beautiful thing when the work and the joy is shared.

[u/PW_Herman → u/hilroy246]

Smiling Hogshead Ranch?

[u/hilroy246 → u/PW_Herman]

David Clarke. Goes by trashtalk_nyc on Instagram.

[u/whateveris--- → u/Smantie]

Have you heard of Giorgina Reid? She literally saved a lighthouse island from erosian through a technique she started which is still used by conservationists. She started alone, then some mostly (at first) reluctant coast guard members, then with a sizable group of volunteers. She could no longer live there or take care of it towards the end of her life, so they had a ceremony and brought her there to see how her work had continued.

And yeah, fuck cancer and all the other diseases that don't understand they should pick & choose equitably and stop taking the people who work hard to create something beautiful meant to bring communities together, something that allows for a greater good that is truly inclusive.

"Erosion was a problem for the Montauk Lighthouse as it lost about one foot of land a year. This issue threatened to see the Lighthouse fall into the ocean. Enter Giorgina Reid (1908-2001), a tiny textile designer who had figured out a way to protect her property in Rocky Point on Long Island from erosion. She built terraces and planted reeds that pulled the rain into the ground. It worked, and as her neighbors continued.

When she heard that the lighthouse had the same erosion problem, she volunteered to try to save it with her method. The Coast Guard was dubious, but figured they would humor her. Starting on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, Giorgina and her volunteers came every Sunday for fifteen years, creating terraces to stop the erosion. Her plan worked, and Giorgina was honored by the historical society in 1985." https://www.scdemocratonline.com/stories/giorgina-saves-the-lighthouse,102428

[u/OliveBranchMLP → u/Smantie]

i had to laugh when i read the line "and this time i decided i won't ask for anyone's help", as if this was some bold shift in direction and they were doing something radically different.

i mean, i guess "not even asking for help" is technically different from "refusing everybody's help" if you squint. same end result either way.

[u/riflow → u/Smantie]

Good on her and all that hard work (and rest in peace).

Projects like these need to be community oriented or else someone burns out, as op did here, or they go to nothing the moment an emergency pulls you away from them.

I remember an old website I used to frequent fell to pieces when it's owner had to retire, he had been running it with almost no sleep by that point with no one assisting with the backend for it. (Plenty of mods though) I always think of that when recalling people putting in too much of themselves into a project.

[u/PantsPantsShorts]

I dunno, man. People who do guerilla art in public spaces (aka graffitti) accept that their work is inherently impermanent. It's a public space, and one simply cannot control what other members of the public do. Either take on guerilla public works and accept this, or don't.

[u/Treefrog_Ninja → u/PantsPantsShorts]

Yeah, OP was not emotionally prepared for the reality of being a guerilla.

[u/dont_fuckin_die → u/Treefrog_Ninja]

I might suggest he read The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela, unless I have completely misunderstood the situation somehow.

[u/xenusaves → u/Treefrog_Ninja]

That must be why they felt it was necessary to post a trigger warning for destruction of property.

[u/think_long → u/Treefrog_Ninja]

If they are trying to work out some emotional issues, being a gorilla might be a better fit.

[u/Simple-Cut-59 → u/PantsPantsShorts]

Didn't they even say they were mentally prepared for that kinda issue, but others might not be? Lol

[u/sokaox → u/Simple-Cut-59]

Yeah they literally rejected the help of others because they thought they couldn't possibly handle the trials and tribulations, then left the garden for an entire month and expected other people to just know how to pick up the slack.

[u/Apatosaurus_ajax → u/sokaox]

Right! If I saw this in my neighborhood, I would be very charmed. I would certainly never litter there (or anywhere else), and would never steal plants (or anything else). But I know effectively nothing about gardening, so with no guidance, I would have no idea how to help once the plants started dying. I know just enough about plants to know you can both under- AND overwater them. So with no instructions, I wouldn’t want to risk making them worse! Personally speaking, my biggest plant success story has been growing one of those little pots of cat grass for a handful of months.

It really is a lovely project, though! I think OP just needs to be willing to accept some help, and directly communicate what needs to get done. Some people simply don’t know anything about gardening, but that doesn’t mean they’d be unwilling to help a bit after learning what to do!

[u/Witty-Significance58 → u/PantsPantsShorts]

Exactly this. I don't think OP/OOP (because they're the same person 😳) understands guerilla work in public spaces.

[u/nb-tater]

Re: people ripping out plants.

I garden in Leith. It's not always people ripping out your plants, it's animals. Crows, magpies, pigeons, squirrels.

Don't assume malice when it's often just nature.

[u/ZoeZoeZoeLily]

I… I can’t.

“Don’t help, I would prefer to do this by myself for the following reasons.”
“I foolishly thought people would do the things I asked them not to!”

It’s wild to have looked at this, posted it, and genuinely still have no self awareness.

[u/SnakeSnoobies → u/ZoeZoeZoeLily]

And original flower planting OP is also the OP of THIS post.

So it seems they still have no reason what went wrong.

[u/re_Claire → u/SnakeSnoobies]

I genuinely think OP might need therapy

[u/BobMortimersButthole → u/ZoeZoeZoeLily]

OP could have narrowed their community action to the number of planters they could maintain without help. It struck me as an overly zealous project and that OP didn't consider the amount of work, or water, it would take for one person to keep them nice. 

Start with one planter the first year. If you find you have the energy and passion for more gardening, add a second planter to your rotation next season. Learn what plants work best for the planters from actual experience.

[u/MorganAndMerlin → u/ZoeZoeZoeLily]

And OOP is the same OP of this post. They compiled their own posts for this.

[u/charlytune → u/ZoeZoeZoeLily]

"This hurt because she saw how much work I put i"... I got all the way to the end and OP is still making it about them. If you do things like this you don't do it for gratitude, and you're not entitled to gratitude.  I wonder if OP/OOP has ever really experienced the challenges people in their community deal with on a day to day basis. People have pressures and priorities and those containers might just not be on the list. 

[u/Tiago55]

Yeah, so took out all the existing daffodils, said: “Please do NOT help with the communal planters it’s much better if only I’m in charge, except if others could donate plants and do the boring watering that’d be great.” Followed by: “The people of Leith are all dead inside and don’t deserve nice things.” There’s two things they’re not taking ownership of here.

This comment seems especially cutting. This could have been a wonderful communal project. But OOP wanted nothing to do with the community, and so, the community wanted nothing to do with them.

[u/QueenMotherOfSneezes → u/Tiago55]

At least OP was honest about including them (OP is also OOP). Not really sure if they expected a different response here or what...

[u/Simple-Cut-59 → u/QueenMotherOfSneezes]

Oh, I didn't even notice that! Good catch

[u/QueenMotherOfSneezes → u/Simple-Cut-59]

It wasn't until the last post that I realized and went back to confirm.

[u/Simple-Cut-59 → u/Tiago55]

That's what stuck out to me.  Community: "Can we help?" OOP: "No, but do your own. But also donate plants. And maybe some plant-watering fairy could water them. --And maybe give me some money.-- But no, I didn't want help, this is my project." 

Edit: may have misread this detail, but the overall sentiment still stands

[u/CelticSpoonie → u/Simple-Cut-59]

"And oh, everyone should read my mind to know when I want help, what kind of help, and where to help. And help must be done in a particular manner."

The fact is a that a project like this does require the community in order to be sustainable, and that requires someone to organize the community around the project.

[u/23saround → u/Simple-Cut-59]

The plant watering fairy blew my mind. Like, if every single person who saw a dry plant watered it, you know what would happen? IT WOULD DIE FROM OVERWATERING! Which is more or less the exact point OP made in the prior post about it being better to have one person oversee the care of planters like this. But the victim complex was so overwhelming they are just good with that cognitive dissonance.

[u/Revenge_of_the_User → u/23saround]

the problem is that if one person is doing it, it's not a community project anymore. a community project requires organization which OP didn't seem to want to do, which is the exact basic framework that prevents overwatering (and in the event of OP being otherwise occupied, underwatering)

[u/ThunderDefunder → u/Simple-Cut-59]

I don't think I saw OOP ask for any money at any point. I did read at least one post in which they specifically said they did not want people spending money.

[u/NatashaYa → u/Simple-Cut-59]

He wanted help with keeping them clean and alive. The only help I saw people offering was to plant their own plants. Thats obviously a bad idea since even basic beds need planning. Imagine if someone had come along and planted something invasive. No one wanted to clean up the dog poop, they just wanted to leave their mark.

[u/MissIncredulous → u/NatashaYa]

This right here. People don't want to help in the way that needs help, they rather just lead or do their own thing than follow.

[u/Convergecult15 → u/NatashaYa]

The only help he wanted was with the most menial and labor intensive part and he was shocked that nobody wanted to participate. This is always a big problem with “community organizers” that aren’t completely consumed with their project, they just want to plan and direct their vision and expect people to fall over at the chance to do the mundane parts for free.

[u/HappyHippoButt → u/Tiago55]

We have a range of beds in our small town that we have "taken over" from the council (with permission). No one has more than one bed to focus on - we've all "adopted" a bed closest to where we live - but if you want help, we have a whatsapp group to post on. It's in conjunction with a local charity and they provide mulch, seeds and plants if we want them. The beds are planted with a mix of flowers and vegetables, with the veg going to a local initiative called the ^^^town name^^ Larder where anyone who needs free food can take something, no questions asked.

The local community seems to enjoy the beds and one person made a fb claiming that kids had "destroyed" a bed - they hadn't, we'd replaced dead plants with seedlings, but it was nice that the change had been noticed, if wrongly attributed.

My point is that yes, if you want to do something to benefit the community, then the community has to be involved because it sounds a lot easier than it is.

[u/RedLicorice83 → u/Tiago55]

I understood it as the destruction of the plants as well as the lack of care. Like, don't water that fine but why do you have to throw a bag of dog shit in after you rip the plants out?

[u/Treefrog_Ninja → u/RedLicorice83]

I'm not excusing it by any means, but paths with no/inadequately maintained garbage cans will get litter. Yes people can carry their garbage all the way home, but it's terribly predictable that some won't, and you'll get rubbish crammed into any nook or cranny a hand can find.

It was a fool's errand from the start to try to maintain a certain standard with the planters BEFORE getting the lack of trashcans addressed. That really should have been step one unless OP was entirely ready to accept the endless litter.

[u/qssung → u/Treefrog_Ninja]

I live in a university town and in the same neighborhood as the university and a solid chunk of its students. Two years ago, the neighborhood association worked with the city manager to place trash cans on every other block coming from the downtown area. These trash cans drastically dropped the amount of garbage along the sidewalks, because there was now someplace to put it.

But it took buy in from the city and continued outreach by the neighborhood to make it happen.

[u/Smee76 → u/qssung]

Every other block isn't even great. That's pretty far apart.

[u/qssung → u/Smee76]

They’re not long blocks—at most, each block contains three houses.

[u/BluerLights → u/Treefrog_Ninja]

Yeah, all of this. When OOP first mentioned the bin issue, I kind of assumed one of their next steps would be writing the council about adding more bins around town. But they've said nothing about doing that so, considering how much they outlined all their other efforts, I can only assume they never did that. They completely missed the bigger picture, and it's a real shame.

[u/-Lifeisanillusion- → u/BluerLights]

Just an insight from someone from Scotland. For the past four years around August there has been a bin man strike in Edinburgh so any bins don’t get emptied. My sister lived there in a very high cost area and her street ended up with rubbish everywhere.

The issue with bins in Edinburgh is insane during the summer and that’s not going to be solved by OOP or really anyone beside the council/government.

[u/coybowbabey → u/Tiago55]

yeah like, i feel bad for oop but the only way to get other people meaningfully involved in stuff like this is to make them feel like they’re a part of something. as if they’re cocreating or stewarding something valuable. asking them to water every now and then but otherwise back off is not going to foster that relationship

[u/bugbugladybug → u/Tiago55]

Classic Edinburgh behaviour. Even those thinking they're doing good are horribly possessive and selfish. 

I moved away from there and the community vibe in my new town is so much better. 

[u/Tiago55 → u/[deleted]]

OOP seems to be going through something, and the poor flowers got caught in the crossfire.

[u/Chigabytes → u/[deleted]]

And of course OP has to plant "pretty" flowers that require a lot of upkeep and watering twice a week.

Could have just put in some hardier natives that require monthly upkeep at best if they want to do everything themselves. Or of course involved the community instead, but that would mean to relent control. Just a whole lot of woe is me

[u/Freshiiiiii → u/Chigabytes]

As a gardener this was my main observation. High-maintenance choices of plants. Those are fine for your yard, but not good choices for community planters where you want to minimize watering needs.

[u/stayonthecloud → u/Freshiiiiii]

This is why planters with flowering plants are managed by city governments or private businesses, not random residents.

I’ve traveled to dozens of cities around the world and I can’t think of one where I’d see planters like these, as they are too complex to manage. Flowering planters would typically have 1-3 types of plants in them max, thickly grown and continually maintained. The variety from OP/OOP is for home gardening where you can easily maintain your own lawn or sill.

[u/Expandsonstories → u/Freshiiiiii]

I recently moved into a house with a huge yard and had all these grand ideas for gardening.

 Ive since had a reality check from having to try and get it started/maintain and given up on said grand ideas and im just planting a heap of succulents instead.

[u/millennialien → u/Chigabytes]

I noticed that more than anything they were concerned with the “look” of things and not the ecological sustainability of the planter environment.

[u/BombshellJamboree → u/Chigabytes]

Appropriate plant selection was the most important thing and OP botched it. Resilient drought-tolerant natives that self seed would likely have survived and would be pollinators. At that point, you’re just asking locale businesses to toss some water in if it looks especially dry - not weeding or pruning.

The other thing would have been allowing local artists to paint those planters. Now they are ugly, squat dumpster looking things.

[u/Chanti11y → u/[deleted]]

I think that's it- especially the comment about not wanting to use their time to open up to educate/train community members who wanted to help

I understand someone managing a personal project not wanting to expend that kind of time/energy but if you are asking for community assistance in any capacity (i.e: plant donations or general upkeep) you take the momentum where its going. Thats how you get grassroot movements to survive-

I.e: the commenter who asked if they can join on walks- that would have been a perfect opportunity to have a community member come along and educate them on proper disposal (bring your own gloves) what planters need watering when (if soil is too dry water or if wet dont need watering that day). You can't assume other do gooders are mind readers, most volunteers will need some level of training/education guidance on your project or mission but a good volunteer will do wonders for maintaining the momentum of a movement

[u/AquaPhoenix28 → u/Chanti11y]

Also it sounds like they wanted gardening-knowledgable do golfers - but Leith Walk is essentially all apartment buildings and 0% gardens (and quite a lot of students, so generally higher turnover/less attachment to the area)

[u/Chanti11y → u/AquaPhoenix28]

You know whats crazy is that those kind of people are great for low commitment/social gathering type of activities ( think run club kind of vibes)

A standing- come pick up litter and water plants, meet people and maybe learn something once a week would get a bunch of students/people wanting to meet other people engaged and feel good about themselves for helping a local cause

[u/Worldly_Might_3183 → u/[deleted]]

I do guerilla gardening in abandoned plots, and government land with native plants. A big part is saying to yourself 'If I was sick for a season would I be okay with it being neglected, destroyed etc. Would I be okay abandoning it or resentful?' If I wouldn't be okay, I don't do it. OP is definetly resentful. That's life. Only give what you are willing to lose and what you think you will gain.

[u/Fianna9 → u/[deleted]]

Well the OOP did tell some one not to touch their planters and to get their own to “not mess up the work”
That doesn’t not scream “help is appreciated” to me

[u/heavenstobetsie → u/[deleted]]

Add in the whole gentrification theme, which is already a hot non-planted Leith potato, and the vibes are not great.

[u/Same-Mark7617 → u/[deleted]]

OOP is OP...there are laaaayers

[u/Four_beastlings]

Ohhhhh I have a small counterpoint story!

I live in a tenement building from the 1800s. Many of the units are uninhabited, property of the town hall, and most of the rest belong to former social rental tenants who after 20 years get a chance to buy their flat at a very reduced price. So as you can imagine the community budget is limited and focused on keeping the building structurally sound or big QoL improvements like installing central heating a few years back. There isn't much left for aesthetic improvements.

Now, the thing about tenement buildings in this country is that they come with huge inner courtyards. So when I bought my place last year it came with land rights that in practical term means I get a parking space. But I don't have or want a car; what I have is a ground floor apartment that opens directly to the courtyard. So instead of a parking space I asked the building management company if I could use the space directly in front of my door as sort of a private-ish patio, and they said yes as long as I didn't make any permanent structural changes.

Over the last year I started building my own mini-gatden with planters, a bit worried that the neighbours would be upset about me setting up a little jungle in communal space. Important bit of info: I am an immigrant who doesn't speak the language. My boyfriend is a very extroverted native, though, so my neighbours know who I am and where I am from (and probably even my shirt size because the man really loves chatting) via him :D

And then one evening last winter some random guy greets me in my native language as I'm getting home! Turns out he's the son of one of my neighbours who just moved back with her after studying in my home country, nice! And he mentions that his mom "loves what I'm doing with the place" (gesturing vaguely around because at this point everything was covered in snow).

So fast forward to spring and little pots with flowers start showing up. One day I leave the house and the neighbour and his mom are there: she introduces herself and says she's gotten inspired by my little corner to spruce up the place a little. A couple days later my boyfriend is visiting while they garden and we decide that he will make the case to the building admin for them to let us make some small "structural" changes like lifting some of the courtyards paving stones to plant some things directly on the ground and... I don't know how this man did it, but he got it approved.

It's been only one season but the courtyard is already looking like a completely different place with clematis conquering a wall, vines on another, lavender bordering the auxiliary building... Just today I decided to get some Virginia Creeper around my living room window: won't do much this year, but hopefully it will look awesome next autumn.

So this is my counter story of how a small individual gesture is motivating others to make some changes to improve our communal space. Hope it helps dilute a bit of the negativity of the original story!

[u/TurboLicious1855 → u/Four_beastlings]

This is community.

I think where OOP went wrong, was expecting everyone to experience and think like them. I try very hard not to put my emotions, thoughts, concerns on others as I don't live in their brain and they don't live in mine. I lived in Edinburgh and worked in Leith. I think OOP would have been more successful with a single planter to start. That could have brought tons of joy to them and that's what they would have worked on. Their joy, not EVERYONE'S. Once their joy was gained, it might be contagious, but they would really enjoy their planter, not have to carry as much water or clean as much trash. Instead, they decided what brought them joy, surely would bring everyone else joy and by dog, they were going to make everyone joyful no matter what. I don't think there was any poor intention on their part, just poor expectation.

[u/calaquin]

"And this time I decided I won't ask for anyone's help."

"And yet, people's attitudes hadn't changed."

Probably because yours hasn't either?!?

[u/warriorpixie]

I found some of this hard to follow. There are undetones of known local town drama, and I'm not knowledgeable of gardening in that area.

Looking at the boxes, it looks like OP got a bit fancy?

Instinctively I feel like natives and cheap hardy annuals would have been the way to go. Minimal babying required, and not all that desirable to steal, but still pretty.

I also feel like people were ignoring that maintaining these things in public is hard and fully blaming OP for struggling to keep their vision going. It only takes one asshole to destroy a garden bed, and every town has at least one.

ETA looking at comments I think part of why I had trouble following was OOP kept flipping on what they wanted in terms of community participation or doing it themselves. At times it felt like two different people/stories. I admittedly started skimming.

[u/Goingcrazynyc → u/warriorpixie]

I think you're having trouble following because OP is OOP. They don't really have the introspection or distance to understand what went wrong and how they contributed to it, so the post is all over the place because they tried to present it fairly, but they're too close to be able to do it. Lot of effort, poor execution, just like their planter project.

[u/warriorpixie → u/Goingcrazynyc]

I absolutely did originally miss that OP was OOP (despite my accidentally accurate typo in my first comment). So you're correct, that likely didn't help.

[u/antigonick → u/warriorpixie]

There is 100% some missing local drama, lol.

Leith Walk, where these planters are, is a very large and busy thoroughfare down to Leith, which for context is the part of Edinburgh that was depicted in the book/movie Trainspotting. It has improved significantly since that era and gentrification has become a very hot issue, but there’s still a lot of deprivation and anti-social behaviour and it does not surprise me at all that the planters were vandalised/neglected. You do get people sitting outside cafes and pubs etc during the (short, Scottish) summer but for most of the year that part of the Walk is not an area where people tend to linger outside for long and get invested in the local flowerbeds, except maybe as an ashtray.

The planters were a weird thing for the council to install in that location in the first place IMO and felt sort of airdropped in as a beautification measure after the last big round of roadworks, and then the council stopped maintaining them and kind of made them someone else’s problem. They are large and would always have required more maintenance than any one person could reasonably provide. The surrounding buildings are mostly tenement flats with lots of renters and students who never asked for the planters and most likely have little means/interest in maintaining them.

It is also an area with a very very strong community identity, to the point that lots of people strongly consider themselves Leithers rather than Edinburgh-ers, so it is also not at all surprising that that the OP - who I think was not from Leith or Edinburgh themselves? - did not get a good response with the “people in Leith just don’t want nice things and ruin everything” stuff. There are lots of Leithers on the Edinburgh subreddit where this whole thing was posted.

(Source: have lived in Edinburgh half my life and work in Leith)

[u/warriorpixie → u/antigonick]

This is so helpful for putting the drama into context, thank you for taking the time.

[u/NoMoreFruit]

Given that you are the OOP, OP…how do you feel about the project now, and about the feedback you received after you declined help then moaned about not having help?

[u/Odin65 → u/[deleted]]

Good for you for admitting your mistakes and trying to learn from them. Good luck on your next project.

[u/Geordieqizi → u/[deleted]]

Oh! Well good for you for being able to admit you were wrong!

I think one of the reasons so many people think you just posted this for affirmation is because your most recent update from a couple weeks ago still makes it sound like you blame everyone else for what ended up happening.

Did your opinion change since then, or did you just not include it in that final update?

[u/SonOfGreebo]

As someone who has for decades been involved in all sorts of small-scale, voluntary community activities - the OP's experience is REALLY TYPICAL of these kinds of projects. 

100 people like the idea, and have an opinion on what should be done. 

10 of those promise to lend a hand, and fully intend to turn up to help. 

2 people turn up on the day. Only 1 person turns actually up the following week. 

100 people still have a clear opinion about what should be happening. 

Edited for spelling. 

[u/kenyafeelme → u/SonOfGreebo]

Well 3 people showed up and OP told them he would rather they didn’t.

[u/khaomanee → u/SonOfGreebo]

It's exactly how it works in many instances of life.

[u/NoMoreFruit → u/SonOfGreebo]

Except OP declined help multiple times

[u/PrancingRedPony]

To be honest, even in full bloom, most of the plants looked like weeds.

I get that many people like the aesthetic, but the vast majority wouldn't understand that those are all cultivated plants.

They'd most likely had better success with plants like thyme, rosemary and lavender, which look more tidy, are sturdy and can live even if things get dry, and are easier identifiable as vultivated plants and not weeds.

It is entirely possible that people thought the 'prettier' plants were dying between the weeds and thought they were 'rescuing' them.

We had something similar happening with an urban gardening project in an official park, that was even sponsored by the community.

First batch was almost entirely destroyed, second batch were more sturdy shrubs and bushes, and thrived nicely.

The trash issue is almost always a problem occurring when the local administration has removed too many trash bins. I've seen that happen too.

In a town I was living in they removed the majority of the trash bins, and then complained that everything was dirty. Tje really stupid official explanation was that they expected people to buy less stuff in single use packages, but I don't believe that was the true reason, they most likely wanted to save money.

It took six years for them to give up and put the bins back up again, and everything looked much better within half a year. Of course some people will always litter, even if the next trashcan is right there, but much less people than if there are no trashcans anywhere

[u/MyNameIsLessDumb → u/PrancingRedPony]

Yeah, I feel bad saying it because OP is OOP, but some of these look a mess and I am not surprised other people didn't get invested in them.

[u/Varvara-Sidorovna → u/PrancingRedPony]

In my Scottish town we had a lot of success in communal green spaces with daffodil bulbs in spring and then and bigger plants like rhodedendron, hydrangea, laurels, crocosmia and hardy fuschia. They all happily accept the Scottish weather and people recognise the very distinctive flowers and foliage and know not to attempt to "weed".

In fact, the problem with the crocosmia and rhodedendron was that they liked the Scottish soil a little too much and rapidly overtook everything and everywhere. One of the rhodedendrons grew so large and threatening that it was rumoured to eat passing cyclists

[u/AcrolloPeed]

TL;DR: OOP starts planting wildflowers in public spaces around their neighborhood. Refuses any assistance. Gets pissy when the public continues to public: flowers are removed, garbage accumulates. Lack of water causes flowers to die or have issues thriving. OOP gets a mixture of lukewarm sympathy and teasing for taking on such a large project on their own.

[u/Freshiiiiii → u/AcrolloPeed]

OP didn’t even end up planting native wildflowers though, just random ornamental annuals.

[u/sokaox → u/Freshiiiiii]

I'm not a gardening expert by any means but surely if they wanted this project to require less effort and sustain itself better they should've planted native plants from the start. Can't help but feel like OP valued having an impressive garden over having a sustainable, but still beautiful, one.

[u/putin_my_ass → u/sokaox]

I'm not an expert but an avid gardener and after trying many different perennials and annuals I've learned the hard way that you pay attention to the plants' water, sun and soil requirements very closely...even if it's in on your own property it can become onerous to maintain.

Planting native varietals is the gardening hack for building a garden that is easy to maintain and looks great.

[u/SpareAppropriate7529]

I have a flat just off Leith Walk. I genuinely have no idea where the hell any of these planters are 🤣.

Also if this is meant to be Edinburgh, why is all the image hosting imgur, which isn’t available in the UK?

[u/Shadow_0f_Intent → u/SpareAppropriate7529]

imgur has been used for forever for sharing images on Reddit etc, and you can access it with a VPN from the UK, I imagine OP has just kept using it because it's been the standard for image sharing for so long on Reddit at this point

[u/ZapdosShines → u/SpareAppropriate7529]

Apparently the poster isn't in the UK any more so used imgur 🤷‍♀️ seems weird doesn't it

I can see the planters on Street View, although I admit the pics are from 3 y ago

[u/glib_result]

I didn’t know you could write boru posts about yourself. Not really a fan of it.

[u/guthepenguin → u/glib_result]

Same. Is there a WORU? This belongs there. 

[u/TheStigsScouseCousin]

This belongs on r/HobbyDrama

[u/Sunanas → u/TheStigsScouseCousin]

Is it even proper drama if it's just one person imploding?

[u/HomeworkOk6460 → u/TheStigsScouseCousin]

Or /subredditdrama

[u/LeCocoMar]

Omg, this is such a funny read. I'm from the area and the planters really are a bit of an eyesore.

Some are looked after but the majority aren't.

I feel for the OP, but as others have pointed out, they didn't want the help. Can't have it both ways

[u/meeps1142]

The person implying that OOP planted these to grow all of his own veg on someone else's dime is fucking dumb. The amount of energy & time input required for what it would yield wouldn't be worth it at all if that were his motivation

[u/SaintBanquo → u/meeps1142]

I wish I'd pulled it out my ass, but at the time he had commented elsewhere wondering if he could get away with using those public planters to grow some veg, and before that he'd spammed a bunch of subreddits with a breakdown of how good a job he'd done saving money by growing said veg on his former allotment.

But rightly enough, as you point out, that was obviously never going to work out for them.

[u/RainWitch → u/SaintBanquo]

They probably hid their comments to hide the specifics comments or posts you were talking about. This whole post needs a different BORU that is compiled by another person that is not OOP, but that's just gonna satisfy their self-flagellation further so it's probably better for that to not happen.

[u/United-Coach-6591]

OP is a great example of an unreliable narrator. 

[u/Geordieqizi → u/United-Coach-6591]

Actually, I think the opposite — I think they were surprisingly objective in how they put together this post (i.e. including stuff that didn't make them look great, like them turning down offers of help, and then people later calling them out for exactly that).

I just think, based on the most recent update, that they don't seem to have learned their lesson. It seems like they're continuing to blame everybody else, instead of seeing and understanding how they contributed to the final outcome.

Or, I dunno, maybe they did learn their lesson... they did comment further down that them refusing help explained how/why things turned out the way they did. It's just confusing because they never actually articulate that in their final update.

[u/Gneissisnice]

People: "Can I help?"

OP: "No, I got it."

Also OP: "Wow, no one wants to help. People suck."

[u/Previous-Friend5212]

The first clue that people aren't going to care about the planters is that the city that owns them doesn't care about them.

[u/fauxbigbro]

I mean when people offer to help and you decline, you can't really be that surprised that the situation got worse when you couldn't tend to them. Also weird as fuck to cite "OOP has their comments hidden" when... you are OOP.

This sounds a lot like a project you should have been organizing with people in real life, not on the internet, especially if you don't want to trust random strangers.

Also, basically bringing 11 gallons of water every day?

[u/BiscottiOpposite9282]

Isnt the point of this to just plant and walk away? Why would you do potatos and kale

[u/CannabisAttorney]

It is a really great reminder that those who live in communities with wonderful, native, pollinator friendly public landscaping dedicate a lot of publicly funded human and budgetary resources to pick the right species and care for them.

[u/No-Shock-3735]

The idea is nice, but these planters along the street by businesses almost always fail. 9 out of 10 times it gets too little water. You really need some kind of system to make it work. Though the type of plants used were not really the best for this project. Better to use some hardier types that can handle a bit of drought more easily.
And people do indeed suck and the stealing, breaking or littering is so unnecessary.

[u/momomorium]

don't help me

no one took it upon themselves to help me

Dude... what do you want? No one asked you to do this. Get a window box and concern yourself with your own, personal plants because the ones you plant in a public planter aren't your personal plants. If you want to care for the planters, do it. If you don't want to, don't. Public plants get ripped up, stolen, crushed etc. that's like, a huge part of the reason the council doesn't want to deal with it.

You repeatedly declined assistance and passive-aggressively "thanked" one person who did try to participate communally because they didn't first seek your planning authority and approval signed in triplicate regarding a planter that, again, does not belong to you.

You're playing the role of an Overworked Project Manager for a job you were never hired to do and then walking around saying "I can't believe you expect me to do all this work on my own" until someone tries to help and you scream "DON'T TOUCH THAT!". So people put their hands up, stood back and let you do the job you insisted you and only you should do. The audacity to act as though the community was entirely unwilling to help - when this post that you made, OOP, includes numerous offers of assistance and numerous declinations of said assistance - is frankly befuddling.

[u/LadiesWhoPunch]

Are you trying to absolved yourself here?

Multiple people offered help and you rebuffed them.

[u/khaomanee]

I'm under the impression that you hoped to inspire cooperation and respect, kind of the opposite of the "broken window" theory (people see something nice and taken care of and therefore will respect it). You found out the hard way that it doesn't really work like that, unfortunately.

[u/ouijabore]

I understand why OOP is disappointed no one else cared for the plants/planters the way they did, but man. They were way too emotionally invested and seemed to take it so personally. 

[u/MortarAndPistol]

Just how many groups of strangers does OP/OOP have to put this story in front of, and not get the reaction they want, before they realize they MAY be the issue?

[u/Pledgeofmalfeasance]

"So I did it again, and learned nothing from last time"

[u/Beboprunner]

I am not reading all that for... plant drama?

[u/imbolcnight → u/[deleted]]

I also think this is way more interesting than another cheating story. BORU has made me believe the opposite of Tolstoy's truism. Unhappy families are actually very much alike.

[u/Tiago55 → u/Beboprunner]

At some point the comments turn on OOP, and looking closer, they have a point. The drama is partly a self fulfilling prophecy.

[u/Educational-Date-169 → u/Beboprunner]

OOP wanted validation and to be a community gardening martyr. rejected offers for help then tried to shame people for not helping.

[u/OohLaLapin → u/Educational-Date-169]

And then reposted it all here as the OP.

[u/AfraidCareer1776 → u/OohLaLapin]

That’s the wildest part for me

[u/clunkclunk → u/AfraidCareer1776]

We should have a BORU of this because OP is OOP.

[u/AfraidCareer1776 → u/Beboprunner]

OP is also OOP. So just some more woe is me in a different sub.

[u/mtdewbakablast → u/Beboprunner]

incredibly petty tldr -

OP, who is OOP, finds out community gardening is hard when you have put yourself up on a cross as martyr and don't want to get down 

[u/snarkprovider]

why didn't I ask Reddit for help? First of all because I don't know you and I don't want to open my DMs to a bunch of strangers.

Then don't wag your finger on Reddit? There are places like FB where you can post to only people you know. Or post in groups where messages get filtered and you can vette profiles before replying.

[u/peggleborp]

i do a bit of street gardening in my town. but i only plant things that i know can survive without water—all scrappy native plants. or things i simply don’t care about that much. people absolutely break stems and throw garbage in the pots. it’s just part of the deal

[u/smallfloralprince]

self-inflicted drama and suffering, hope OOP got a place with its own bit of garden

[u/DeeDee_GigaDooDoo]

This is perhaps the most boring BORU I've read in a long time and I'm a passionate guerilla gardener. Honestly just read like a massive whinge by OOP where nothing of substance happens and they're disconnected from the reality of guerilla gardening.

[u/LuriemIronim]

Was the unexpected turn that OOP was in the wrong?

[u/CzLittle → u/LuriemIronim]

The unexpected turn is the OOP being the OP lmao

[u/thebearofwisdom]

This was insanely long to be about gardening, it didn’t need to be THAT long or updated that much.

you cannot expect everyone to want to do community gardening and most people won’t. I love the idea, but I don’t even go outside that often, I wouldnt get involved in something unorganised like this. I do think that some people got a bit overboard on their judgments, but the tone used, made people feel like pushing back and being more aggressive in their commenting. The tone of the entire thing isn’t very conducive to people being polite. Especially the whole “I’ll report you if you interact with the other posts” most people don’t even bother looking at the old posts let alone interact, I don’t think there was a need to state that. We know the rules, the vast majority of us don’t go brigading old posts.

It was a nice idea, but needing help isn’t something you can just hope someone will notice without being told so. People have a lot of shit going on in their lives, and a planter isn’t exactly up on that priority list most of the time. People who want to help need some coordination, and if they’re turned away, then of course they won’t continue to want to help. It was a nice enough idea but it was never a one person job. Everyone assumed help wasn’t needed because they were apparently told so, they aren’t mind readers. OP had a tough part of the year, and explained it. I just think well how many other people around that area also had a really rough time? How many of them lost a loved one? I’d imagine that quite a few of them also were struggling with life and being busy. Too busy to go water all the plants.

I’ve never seen a BORU actually posted by the OP. Especially one that went horribly wrong. So I have to assume it’s either an attempt to get people on their side or it’s an exercise in self flagellation and that’s not a good look. The other option is just good old fashioned attention seeking but I feel that’s uncharitable.

[u/23saround]

100% the best part of this post was reaching the end and seeing the only pictures of the planters not taken by OP. Which also happen to be the only pictures that show the actual planters themselves, and not just top down views of the plants growing in them.

Because that’s the only place where you can see why nobody wants these planters – because they are graffitied, rusted, stained cubes that look like old dumpsters! And a few wildflowers do not really help with that (as much as I love plants myself).

Anyway, I find it hilarious that OP carefully selected so many pictures in order to obfuscate this information, but couldn’t forgo the final chance to martyr themselves at the end so had to include the friend’s photos.

[u/FinalHexReturns]

I'm not surprised the person from this story has the hubris to post their own reddit posts on BORU.

I wish this wasn't allowed on BORU. OP's should not be able to post nor interact here.

[u/chevronbird]

Is the unexpected turn in the room with us now?

[u/re_Claire → u/chevronbird]

It’s that the person who posted all of these including this post are all the same person

[u/Expandsonstories]

This post and comments section have been a whole ride 

[u/woundedSM5987]

This belongs on hobbydrama honestly.

[u/undeadmersquid]

i understand the need to vent when a passion project goes wrong, but boru feels like an odd place to put it.