Spreading Seed one Seed Ball at a Time

Guerrilla gardening can be fun. 'Seed bombs' are targeted to put flower seeds in empty lots. in L.A. Designers Daniel Phillips and Kim Karlsrud of Common Studio are part of a venture called Greenaid.

Made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds, "seedbombs" are becoming an increasingly popular means combating the many forgotten grey spaces we encounter everyday-from sidewalk cracks to vacant lots and parking medians. They can be thrown anonymously into these derelict urban sites to temporarily reclaim and transform them into places worth looking at and caring for.

The Greenaid dispensary simply makes these guerrilla gardening efforts more accessible to all by appropriating the existing distribution system of the quarter-operated gumball machine. With a simple edict, "Change for Change", the Greenaid initiative encourages urban dwellers of any age to become casual activists by taking part in the incremental beautification of their environment using only the loose coins in their pocket.

Here's how the Greenaid program works:

Schools, businesses and individuals can purchase any number of Greenaid machines and Common Studio will develop a "strategic neighborhood intervention plan" specifically adapted for your area and they will continue to supply the seed bomb 'candies'.

Stocked with vibrant-sounding flavours like 'Woodland', 'Riparian1' and 'Riparian2', Greenaid machines are already a hit in parts of Los Angeles. Portable, unassuming but totally fun, it's an original way of repackaging guerrilla gardening for the masses so that even kids can get in on the game.

Just as seed spread and flowers bloom, hopefully this idea will spread and bloom in cities across the country. You can also help to create more livable cities!