Crack Gardens

I've always admired the tenacity of trees, shrubs, grasses and vines to be able to thrive in the harshest of urban conditions; including rooftops, building sides, gutters, culverts and roadway cracks. These 'crack gardens' are most often colonized by early pioneer plants which do an important job of paving the way for other plants to become established, and mimic how plants colonize old lava flows or exposed rock faces. How these plants survive a lack of soil or rooting space, little nutrients or access to water during droughts, and extremes of heat or cold is a complete mystery to me, and gives me great hope in the reclamation of our most damaged landscapes. They can also be hauntingly beautiful in their own linear or spotty way. Here are a few crack gardens that caught my eye:

Old Royal Drive-in Theater, Meridian, MS

San Antonio Botanic Garden, TX

Felder Rushing's designed 'Crack Garden' Driveway, Jackson, MS