Pothole Gardener Transforms Eyesores Into Works Of Art

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Potholes, those pesky unexpected dents on our roads are not only a nuisance and often destructive for cars but also, an eyesore - Now, an avid British gardener is transforming them into works of art by creating miniature flower beds!

34-year old Steven Wheen who began his unusual quest about three years ago, said he was inspired by a similar project undertaken by students at California's College of Arts, who did a similar thing for a San Francisco neighborhood.

Over the years, he has created 150 mini gardens covering up as many potholes as he can find around the city of London even those, as small as one square inch! The clever gardener begins by filling up the space with some soil and then planting in whatever flower or shrub he believes will fit the theme.

That's because unlike other pothole gardeners, Steven not only creates beautiful landscapes, but also, adds miniature props like a bicycle, an iconic British telephone box, a Mini Cooper or whatever suits his fancy. Of course, he only leaves the props at the scene long enough to take a photo and then removes them before they can cause damage to the cars driving over them.

Steven says that though people often think he is doing this to 'protest' the road conditions, that is not his purpose. He is simply doing it to provide some greenery to the concrete London landscape and to see the smile on the faces of the passersby fortunate enough to see his little works of art. For those of us not as lucky, he has published a book, appropriately titled the Little Book of Little Gardens!

dailymail.co.uk, inhabitat.com

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113 Comments
  • b_m_g
    b_m_galmost 12 years
    that is so cool
    • j_e_r-v
      j_e_r-valmost 12 years
      hahahahahahahahah funny teach me how to do
      • lindaalmost 12 years
        yeah, as cool as that is... it isn't going to help people drive around on the small roads.
        • oysterbrain
          oysterbrainalmost 12 years
          I don’t like people doing this because it is going to make traffic problems or any other serious road issues. Maybe someone may steal it or break it. I like people doing this because it will be a very creative decoration. I also like this because people passes by can take pictures of it or copy the design so they can make a similar decoration in their own garden.
          • rockman
            rockmanalmost 12 years
            I don't think that is good because it looks really pretty and cause it's really pretty you know what that means right? MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!TO MUCH MONEY!! he seams to be spending to much money in those materials!and also there are flowers and if it rains they will drink to much water and they might die from drinking to much water.!
            • cottoncandyfluf
              cottoncandyflufalmost 12 years
              awesome! it goes to show that anything can be art!!!
              • icecreamcake
                icecreamcakealmost 12 years
                It was good that nobody's car drive in there!
                • tralalalmost 12 years
                  tralalalalaaa !!! i should be doing homework now so i will do that...
                  • cool!almost 12 years
                    thats so amazing! i love the pic above the vid.! cute!
                    • koolkuraalmost 12 years
                      this is so creative. i thik the one that the kids did is wayyyyyyy better, but i like all of his, too