Guerilla Gardening - The Bewilderers  

Today's SMH has an article on some guerilla gardeners (who call themselves "bewilderers") operating in Sydney's south- "The Bewilderers: On the verge of a revolution".

Where most people see nature strips that need mowing, scrappy grass verges and useless "waste" land, Bob Crombie sees only endless opportunities for more planting. Mr Crombie is a retired National Parks and Wildlife Service senior ranger and TAFE teacher but prefers these days to describe himself as a "bewilderer".

"'Bewilder' is an old term meaning 'to become connected to life, the source, the spirit, God'," he says. All of which sounds pretty high-falutin' until you realise how startlingly practical Mr Crombie's "bewildering" is. With a couple of mates, he spends his spare time clearing weeds and planting out any public green space that catches his eye. "Once you start thinking, you see opportunities everywhere you look," he says.

When the inevitable question arises of seeking permission from whatever public body owns the land, he just grins. "We just go ahead and do it," he says. "If I see a place and think, 'Jeez, an angophora would look good there', I just put one there."