One of the interesting challenges of public gardening, particulalry in a high-traffic multi-use urban environment like the Fenway, is security. You probably don't think about this when you're walking through the gardens, but it's definitely an issue for the gardeners.

Vandalism is a concern for anyone who gardens in the city. In the Fenway you can count on your garden being trashed at least once a summer. Which is unfortunate. It may be an eternal truth that every positive notion, urge, or action has its equal and opposite. It seems so, at least. Whatever constructive urges we humans have are at least matched, if not surpassed by the urge we have to destroy things.

I don't think there's much to be done about it, to tell you thed truth, because, like it or not, that destructive urge is fundamental to our progress as a species. But the problem is, the urge to destroy is not always married to that urge to rebuild. Sometimes it's just the urge to destroy, period. And it's up to someone else to rebuild.

Lucky for everyone, gardeners are used to rearranging, shaking things up and rising to the challenges nature and man throw in their path. That's such a basic part of what gardening is, that wehen your garden gets trashed, you stand around stunned, scratching your head for a while, and then get back down to work.

Which is not to say that anyone wants to have their garden trashed. But it happens. It's hard to understand in a rational way. But I suspect those responsible are generally under the influence of something—in the Fens it could be anything from crack to crystal. Not that that makes it less wrong, but somehow it's more understandable.

Because razorwire is forbidden, and the fences are usually pretty easy to hop, most gardeners try to safeguard the fruits of their labor by planting thorny climbing plants along their fences. I'm off to pick up a couple of climbing rose bushes later this afternoon, which will be the extent of my security measures. The trick is not to make it look like you're barricading yourself in. You want a natural barrier that whispers: "look, but don't touch," rather than screams: "Stay the hell out!"