Brenda Dyck went rogue for the first time about 40 years ago.

She remembers how she grabbed her gardening tools, marched into a grassy field beyond her rental home, dug a small hole in the ground and planted her first apple tree.

含羞草研究社淚t was like a dopamine hit for me,含羞草研究社� says the 61-year-old from her home in British Columbia含羞草研究社檚 remote Cariboo Mountains.

含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝e always been a hard-core gardener. I eat, sleep and breathe gardening.含羞草研究社�

She says she now regularly treks to a community shed near her home to drop off hundreds of seeds she has cultivated over decades to encourage more people to do what she had done 含羞草研究社� guerrilla gardening.

含羞草研究社淕uerrilla gardening is the act of gardening on land that does not belong to you without permission,含羞草研究社� Dyck says.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 revolutionary. Especially in today含羞草研究社檚 climate, there含羞草研究社檚 so many people that don含羞草研究社檛 (own) land or can含羞草研究社檛 afford groceries. It含羞草研究社檚 better for the planet. It含羞草研究社檚 better for communities. It含羞草研究社檚 better for everybody.含羞草研究社�

Laura Taylor, an urban planning professor at York University in Toronto, says the term was coined in the 1970s in Brooklyn, N.Y.

含羞草研究社淭he community took over a place where buildings had been taken down because they were unsafe, and then the vacant lot was just left,含羞草研究社� Taylor says.

The area 含羞草研究社渨ent from a place that was an eyesore to a place where people were growing vegetables and getting food from it.含羞草研究社�

Taylor says it含羞草研究社檚 difficult to track how big the movement is, but it has been persistent since then, mostly in urban areas.

The act comes with risks, she says, as those who garden without permission on land they don含羞草研究社檛 own may be charged with trespassing, especially if the area has a sign that says No Trespassing, or if a gardener has been given a verbal warning to not enter.

Some zoning bylaws, which regulate how a property can be developed, used and maintained, may get rogue gardeners in trouble with the law.

Dyck agrees guerrilla gardening is difficult to track.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 such an underground thing, because nobody wants to admit to it.含羞草研究社�

She says several gentle rebels who don含羞草研究社檛 own land and can含羞草研究社檛 afford groceries but have an itch for gardeninghave asked her for her seeds.

含羞草研究社淚f you can含羞草研究社檛 afford potatoes, you can have like three different kinds with my seeds,含羞草研究社� Dyck says.

She also doesn含羞草研究社檛 have an exact count of how many rogue gardens have sprouted because of her. But she receives hundreds of messages from people every month asking about her seeds, how to plant them and when she will be dropping them off next.

Dyck says she has never got into trouble.

The closest she got was when she went rogue that first time. After the apple tree expanded into a full-blown garden, some growing pots that Dyck had made out of old, broken household items including a vintage radio caught her landlord含羞草研究社檚 attention.

She says she received a letter from the developer asking her to remove her 含羞草研究社渇airy garden.含羞草研究社� After she gave him some of her vegetables and promised not to let the plants get in anyone含羞草研究社檚 way, Dyck says the developer was willing to look the other way.

Neighbours who watched her garden grow over the years also appreciated the seeds and fruits she gave out.

Megan Lewchuk, a horticulture technician in Alberta, says she learned about guerrilla gardening last year from a colleague who plants in areas owned by the City of Edmonton.

The 25-year-old says she fell in love with the concept, because she doesn含羞草研究社檛 know whether she含羞草研究社檒l ever own a home and have her own backyard.

含羞草研究社淥pportunities to plant more permanent things in areas I can come back to later is appealing,含羞草研究社� she says.

Lewchuk says she also deeply cares about the climate. She has planted willows, whose deep roots prevent erosion, without getting permission in Edmonton含羞草研究社檚 ravines.

She has also thrown 含羞草研究社渟eed bombs,含羞草研究社� which are seeds wrapped in compost and concrete, in urban areas in an attempt to fight the heat island effect. That含羞草研究社檚 when urban areas become several degrees hotter than the average daytime temperature because vegetation has been replaced with concrete.

含羞草研究社淎ny little difference is still a difference, you know?含羞草研究社� she says.

Eric Boyd, a Toronto-based semi-retired investor, says he guerrilla gardens to beautify places around his city with like-minded people.

含羞草研究社淚t is very gratifying to put something in the ground and then turn it into something beautiful as opposed to the infested space that it was previously,含羞草研究社� says Boyd.

He isn含羞草研究社檛 worried about getting caught, he says.

含羞草研究社淒on含羞草研究社檛 let some fear of the law stop you, OK?

含羞草研究社淣eighbours walk by and thank us 含羞草研究社� is by far the most common outcome.含羞草研究社�

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Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press