1975 . She did such a good job that her garden is now protected by the New York City Parks Department. In the grim, gray, cold United Kingdom, guerilla gardening has been on the rise since the 80s and takes place just about anywhere you can scatter a seed, from Parliament Square to outside Harold Shipman’s former slaughter parlor . (And they even turned the idea into a TV show in Australia.) But it’s the people sowing on a daily basis that make the movement to reclaim disused, rotting bits of urban wasteland one you should give a crap about. People a bit like Chris Tomlinson.

I met Chris when I found him holding court in the back of Brighton’s radical libertarian cafe the Cowley Club a few weeks ago. He discussed the pros and cons of growing tomatoes in the middle of mini-roundabouts; we all listened rapt to his tales of “attacking the streets.” With seeds. It’s his life’s work to do this as much as is humanly possible. While it’s not exactly legal–recently four policemen stopped him while planting in a churchyard–and Brits aren’t known for their love of vegetables, who wouldn’t enjoy a present of free food?

Whether it’s just the sheer joy he gets from planting a load of squashes in a gas station parking lot or the thrill of re-appropriating the land from the multi-nationals, I’m not sure, but he seems to be into the whole deal and it seems unlikely he’ll quit anytime soon. He will happily plant in pavement cracks, parks, front gardens, back gardens, and just about anywhere else that will hold a seed. There is only one rule he abides by: leave land that is already tended. I popped over to Hastings, where he’s from, to catch up with him.

Vice: So how did you get started scattering seeds on land that technically did not belong to you? Chris Tomlinson: Just by being a human and being sensitive in an insensitive grab-whatever-you-can-get-while-you-can world. Guerilla gardening makes sense to me and helps me out of my lows. Reading On Guerrilla Gardening by Richard Reynolds was inspiring. So respect to Mr. Reynolds for opening the door. Go for it boy! I’ve also been inspired by Chico Mendes, John Lilburne, Eillen Caddy, Mike Scott, and many others who’ve crossed my path and encouraged me when I’m up and down. I am always inspired by the spirits of Danny Cullen and Grace Dodd.

That’s a pretty varied list. What is it about guerilla gardening that floats your boat? The joy of reclaiming open spaces and gardens to help rebuild communities and the spirit of community. Well one can dream large anyway.

What else do you do other than sow your wild oats? When I’m not guerilla gardening I work on my small garden or read about horticulture either in library books or Growing Green International, the journal of the Vegan Organic Network.

So do you do anything that doesn’t involve gardening at all? I eat, read, sleep, and play music loudly.

Have you ever run in to any scrapes while out planting cabbages in pavement cracks? I once ran into right-wing little Englander who gave me some stick but now he grows veggies in his garden after my chat and action.

Wow, any other highs? Some fruit trees that I grew were featured in latest National Co-op Membership Magazine which has a readership of 1.2 million.

Can planting in places you’re not meant to really make a difference? I’m an optimist. I’d encourage others to grow fruit and vegetables in their own gardens and open spaces.

Are you sure that you don’t have any deep, dark, non-green secrets? Like that you drive a Land Rover? No. Hence my occasional lows. No selling-out here folks!