Let me explain. In my town there is many green areas devoid of native plants/ flowers. I’m sure you have seen them everywhere in your own town. Next to roads and stores there’s always small patches of grass which is mowed, despite not being large enough for any sort of recreation. I remembered I had a full box of wildflowers. As a form of eco protest, should I plant these wildflowers in these small desolate places? Wildflowers are hardy and will grow mostly anywhere, and if that land is not being used why not help local pollinators? Also since these places aren’t connected to or near any forests, there little to no risk of spreading invasive species. Thoughts? I think I’m just sick of seeing lawn culture and mowing land no one ever even walks on.
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Whilst I love the idea, I fear it’s not going to happen.
The only reason nothing grows there is if it’s actively being maintained or if growth is discouraged somehow. Otherwise you would already see random wildflowers and other growths there.
So what ever you decide to seed there is likely to get removed or what ever effect is causing there to be nothing but grass in those spots.
Worst thing that happens is they get removed/mowed over. On the off chance it doesn’t, you’re making the place look nicer and providing more native plants for animals/bugs who need it. I like the idea
It’s totally ethical, if not laudatory.
I can’t see how you’d be hurting anyone or making more work for others. Worst case scenario I can imagine for what you’re doing are birds swooping in and eating the seeds before they germinate, which means you fed the birds which isn’t bad to do once.
Best case, you help the ecosystem.
Just make extra sure you only plant native species to your area.
As long as there are no noxious weeds (s considered by local authorities) or invasive species, go for it! The medians in my neighborhood are full of wildflowers, people call them "weeds", but whatever. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you are thoughtful.
Done this. It’s fun. The environmental nonprofit I volunteer for does this with native plants. We call it seed bombing. You never know. Sometimes the seeds surprise you. GO WILD!!!
What’s less ethical, tossing some native seeds into lifeless patches or bulldozing forests to make way for parking lots?
Save your plants, throw some seeds instead!
Native wildflowers should almost be an imperative.
Don’t go picking invasive plants, that would be ethical.
Also not sure how one ‘illegally’ plants something. I would drive around the countryside releasing milkweed from pods I gathered. That’s just nature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_gardening
I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I make sure I only plant native wildflowers.
I’ve restored meadows in some of my local parks that had been reclaimed from 100 years of cattle ranching and am currently working on the drainage canal network in my town (my town is built on what was an extensive wetland).
I spend about $500/year on seeds and occasionally bare roots. I’m specifically working on growing resources for hummingbirds, native pollinators, and monarch butterflies.
The only harm I could see is if you planted a bunch along roadways or on medians as these would potentially attract animals which will be more likely to be struck with a vehicle OR the plants grow high enough out large enough that they obstruct views and create danger areas,
> since these places aren’t connected to or near any forests, there little to no risk of spreading invasive species
You would be surprised how far some invasive seeds can travel. Wind, birds and people’s shoes can carry seeds for many many many miles. Please use only species native to your area.
the point of mowing land like that is much less to do with walking and much more to do with controlling vermin, or in the case of roadsides, visibility both for the cars, and to discourage desirable wildlife from getting to close to the road. it is also good for fire control.
Grass by a store or other business that is paying for lawn care is going to view this as vandalism and the lawn care company has likely already applied weed control that will take care of anything you try to plant. The grass strips are likely also part of their catchment plan for their hard parking surfaces as well, so they are already serving an ecological purpose.
for abandoned or rarely maintained properties away from successful businesses generally you would only have to worry about attracting animals or insects too close to a roadway, fire risk, and visibility. If you select native, low, groundcover you aren’t likely to cross too many of those obstacles or irritate much of anyone.
do not use non-native plants, wind and birds pretty much means everything is connected to the wild.
if I remember correctly the guidelines that were developed in my area after studying attempts like this were that you should have nothing other than groundcover within 50′ of the roadway (or inside the wildlife exclusion fences if those are present) for visibility and fire reasons and keep tall field plants 25′ minimum from houses to deter wildfire and vermin.
One other warning, even if it is unmaintained, Many cities will simply defoliate properties where the overgrowth gets tall to keep the rats and mosquitos under control.
You can find local species,, that might be better so you don’t spread invasive, then it’s not really a subversive act, those seeds could have ended up on that grassy area naturally.
Also, many cities are converting grassy areas to pollinator habitats, your city or municipality might actually be open to this. (My city of Pittsburgh has installed a “pollinator corridor” of local flowers along some roadways to help our local pollinators. You can see thickets of wildflowers in areas that used to be grassy road medians.
My state used to (maybe still do) give away seeds at the info centers you see when entering the state by interstates and encourage people to spread them along the highway.
If you are making sure not to plant species that are invasive in the region you’re planting them, and you’re planting in areas that aren’t likely to contaminate wild populations of those flowers with genetics from farm-raised specimens you’re planting (remember bees will cross pollinate some distance and wind can pollinate for a couple of miles), I’d say go ahead.
I think its pretty shitty.
Those "weeds" make look nice sometimes, but on average they look like a mess to most people and they are a bugger to mow properly to keep things neat and orderly.
Don’t go to the time and trouble of planting them – collect their seeds and drop them in the areas. You might need to bring a garden fork to poke them into the ground.
I do No Mow May at my house. The neighbours always have raised eyebrows by the third week, when it has very energetically grown to be two feet high. I’m not a fan of lawn culture either, and once it’s all mown June 1, growth gets lazy and only needs mown two more times in the summer. I warn the Town Hall of what I’m doing every year, and so far no push back.
I have two bee hives, and my yield is really good when there aren’t monster summer rains, or northern forest fires.
Edit: I didn’t answer the ethics question – the worst that can happen is that everything will get mowed – but that would have happened if you spent huge amounts of energy on the project.
So long as it’s not an invasive species, and it’s indeed a local wildflower, I encourage it and I’m not sure it’s illegal considering you basically just drop seeds on the ground.