Of all the animals of prey, man is the only sociable one.
Every one of us preys upon his neighbour, and yet we herd together.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay

Saturday 27 June 2009

A Garden is a Lovesome Thing...


(Major h/t to JuliaM at Ambush Predator for her entertaining post on the subject)


How many nit-picking jobsworths does it take
To forbid an urban garden?
Just who exactly is offended when you make
A forbidden urban garden?
With a bit of buddleia,
Jasmine or a fuchsia,
What was a crumbling mess for thirty years
Can be turned from an eyesore into a thing of joy,
As a pretty urban garden.

"How did you think you could break the rules and make
An illicit urban garden?
We’ll let you go if you say it's a mistake
And you beg the council’s pardon.
Put back every cobblestone,
Leave the bramble stems alone,
Uproot the flowers and l
et it run to seed,
Or we’ll do it ourselves and we’ll make you pay the bill
To remove your urban garden."


Why should the council spoil someone's fun
And destroy an urban garden?
So they can claim that something's being done
When they destroy an urban garden?
Hoodies with their lager cans,
Graffiti scrawls and burger vans,
Litter and vandals are difficult to deal with;
Much easier to pick on one retired florist
And her little urban garden.

3 comments:

  1. Has anyone costed the time, effort, etc. that the relevant council employees have put into this one? And a horticultural expert is to visit and make a report? Moreover, if the site is returned to original condition how can the council claim "added value"? Also, the complainants seem to have been anonymous.

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  2. Marvellous! I've linked back to it...

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  3. Thanks, JuliaM.

    Demetrius, I'd love to know whether the 'complaints' were real and what grounds they gave.
    If they existed at all, my money's on the parents of the children whose stone-throwing antics started the whole project off.

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