"I feel responsible for my neighbourhood"

Marigolds, poppies, kade bulbs... Thousands of flower seeds are sorted in trays in Jaap's living room. He distributes these seeds walking all over the city. "This is how I make my surroundings more beautiful," says Jaap. "And nature is happy too."

Jaap used to live in Amsterdam. He had to cycle twenty kilometres every day to his work at the bronze foundry in Haarlem. "One day I decided to take a bag of daffodils with me and plant bulbs every few hundred metres along the dike. That way, the bike ride became more and more beautiful."

In Amsterdam, he lacked a garden. That was one of the reasons for moving to Leeuwarden. "Without a garden, you learn to think more broadly than your own territory. Public space belongs to all of us. Some people are quick to point to the municipality if they think something is not right, but you can also do something yourself. I do that by making the surroundings more beautiful with flowers. I feel responsible for my neighbourhood."

In Leeuwarden, it started at community centre 't Knooppunt. Two years ago, Jaap planted 6,000 flower bulbs there on his own initiative. Everything was blooming beautifully. "Now I am growing Africans for the community centre," he says, showing off the greenhouse in his garden. Last years, I also sowed along the Spoordijk. Now you see that more and more flowers such as daisies and cuckoo flowers are coming back on their own. That's very nice to see."

Some seeds Jaap buys, but much he gets from nature himself. He knows exactly what grows where throughout Friesland. At home, he dries the seeds, cleans them and puts them in trays. Ready to be sown. "I have good contact with the municipality, some of whose plots I manage. In addition, I have adopted a few tree pits." Tree pits are pieces of land around a tree belonging to the municipality. Often this is just grass or mud. You can adopt these from the municipality. You then get to turn them into something beautiful with flowers. "And I sow throughout the city. In flowerbeds, open patches along the street and sometimes even in gardens. When I walk by there later, it's in beautiful bloom. That way I enjoy it twice. It is not only beautiful to see, but also very good for biodiversity. There will be more different flowers and insects."

"I can recommend planting bulbs to everyone," says Jaap. "You'll enjoy them a few times. When you buy them, you are curious to see how beautiful they become and think about where to plant them. When spring arrives, they bloom beautifully and everyone loves to see them. I would say just give it a try."

"I understand that not everyone likes gardening. Besides, like here in the neighbourhood, many people have small gardens. Two containers and a bicycle and it's already full. I understand that you don't make space for plants then. But there are many more things you can do for your neighbourhood." Would you like to do something for your neighbourhood, but don't know where to start? Step inside the community centre or knock on the door of Amaryllis' social neighbourhood team.