Sunday 1 May was International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, which is promoted by www.guerrillagardening.org, so a small group of people headed out from The Warehouse to plant sunflower seeds around the Digbeth area. As many people who frequent Digbeth know, it is in places rather neglected and there are a lot of empty barren pieces of land. Whilst some of this is part of its gritty urban charm, we thought that a few jolly sunflowers scattered over those forgotten and unloved patches of ground would add a bit of colour to the landscape. After all, who doesn't feel a little happier seeing a few sunflowers brighten their day? As an added bonus they're also a doddle to grow and provide tasty food for birds.

So, armed with a big bag of sunflower seeds, some dibbers to make holes in the ground, and bottles of water, we set out on a lovely sunny day with the aim of brightening up Digbeth come the summer. We managed to cover a fair chunk of the area, scattering in all manner of spots, although some rather optimistically! So keep a look out in the coming months for sunflowers springing up in unexpected places, and if you fancy planting a few yourself, then drop into The Warehouse to pick up some seeds of your own – we've got plenty of them!

Ben Mabbett