War & Beauty
Guerrilla gardeners descend on Midtown: Can slingshots and seeds transform an ugly area?
Take that you empty, nasty lot overrun with messy weeds. A trio of unsuspecting locations were no match for a camouflaged, armed militia of 50 beautification soldiers on a mission to root seeds for prettier days ahead.
Following the successful "Guerrilla Gardening: Mission Possible I" hosted by eco-conscious boutique One Green Street two years ago, founder and green diva Sherry Eichberger thought it was time for another urban attack on Midtown's unused parcels of land. Joining the transport efforts that began at Monica Pope's Sparrow Bar + Cookshop for Saturday's besiege was Pedal Party, whose Nate Stout, call him general, rallied the troops to imbibe local beer, get rowdy and embrace the spirit of the operation.
Each GI on the trenches was outfitted with a handcrafted wooden sling and nine GreenAid biodegradable cartridges filled with wildflowers.
En route to seed bomb tracts near Holman and Travis streets, San Jacinto and Stuart streets and Elgin and Fannin streets, spectators offered words of encouragement in spite of having no clue what the coordinated raid was all about.
Each GI on the trenches was outfitted with a matching bandana, a handcrafted wooden sling and nine GreenAid biodegradable cartridges filled with wildflower seeds suitable for the urban Houston environs.
Back at home base, Sparrow offered light bites, Texas wine and craft beer as a respite from the arduous campaign while singer/songwriter J.J. Essen's sweet vocals transformed the restaurants patio into a happy reunion camp. The Katy-native musician contributed a combination of original country songs and covers, including James Blunt's "You're Beautiful," that had guests asking, who is this handsome guy? His latest album, Full Circle, is available on iTunes.
Summoning their inner Rambo were art car maven Rebecca Bass, Shawn Manderscheid and Paula Hines, Jennifer Masters, David Wuensch, Michael Savino, Devon Kocian, Cheri Gossett and Yuliana de la Rosa.