Guerrilla gardening:

• gardening on land on which gardeners do not have permission to plant
• making and using “seed bombs” to distribute seeds secretly
• the illicit cultivation of someone else’s land
• gardening public space with or without permission

The guerrilla in my backyard is showing up in the form of basil.

Basil partnering with a pepper plant

Basil instead of a pepper plant

Basil sharing space with cilantro

Basil in its intended pot

…and a starter pot for extra basil and thyme.

Sneaky, that pile of potential pesto. Here’s how it happened. No seed bombs were harmed in the planting process. Instead, the seeds hibernated in a large pot that I attempted to bring indoors for the winter. The basil didn’t get enough sun to thrive indoors, so I used the seemingly empty potting soil to start tomato and pepper seeds. Sure enough, those hibernating seeds decided to flourish, and I can only blame myself for the results.

…or maybe it was this sneaky guerrilla gardener.