I have just been reading about a retired lady florist who made a garden on a piece of derelict land near her home in Cornwall. Jayne Bailey, from Bodmin, improved a small concrete island that had looked a mess for 30 years or more. She removed the rubbish, weeds and debris and planted garden plants and grasses so that it shone out like a small oasis in the urban wasteland.

But Cornwall District Council and some of her neighbours were less than impressed. The council threatened her with a prosecution for criminal damage and she has been ordered to remove the plants within 28 days, or face a large bill for remedial work.

How times have changed. In the 1960s my maternal grandmother had a raised flower bed outside her London home. In spring it was planted with bulbs and in summer cannas and dahlias appeared as they had for many years.

The groundsmen relied on Gran to weed and tidy the area which was right outside her house. In exchange, she was able to have some of the bulbs and cannas as a reward, because every year the plants were dumped into a lorry heading for the tip. This private deal, conducted over copious cups of tea, suited both parties and it resulted in a personal box of cannas and dahlias in September and some bulbs in May.

These arrived by post and I eagerly awaited them. They inspired me to garden when I had little money to buy plants of my own. I suspect I would be up for receiving stolen goods in this present era of political correctness.

Happily, Liverpool Council are encouraging their locals to get busy and they have invited the famous guerilla gardener, Richard Reynolds, to inspire the residents of South Liverpool in a quest to plant up derelict plots, however tiny, with vegetables or flowers. Each participant has the opportunity to blog or twitter on the web and the results can be viewed on www.adoptaplot.org.uk. The residents will be working with the International Centre for Digital Content (ICDC) so that they can record their progress — whether computer literate or not.

Richard Reynolds began guerilla gardening on the housing estate where he lived at The Elephant and Castle in South London in 1986. He noticed that the council were neglecting communal flower beds and sneaked out at the dead of night. He sparked off a world-wide trend and his catchy logo “let’s fight the filth with forks and flowers” hints at his previous existence as an advertising executive.

Guerilla gardening invariably takes place at night when the police and other authorities are less likely to appear. Part of its charm is that the illicit business gets the adrenaline pumping and planters are given untraceable names like Mick 2185 of Dublin. I bet Jayne Bailey wished she had donned the black clothing and balaclava too and the name Jayne 8083.