A trend that seems to be growing in many areas of the country is taking your garden to the street. The grassy area that is often found between sidewalks and the street has become a popular place to increase one’s garden space and if you do a search on the Internet you can find pictures of some really beautiful and innovative ideas for these spaces. There are, however, some challenges to gardening in these spaces.

The first thing you should look into before you break ground is whether or not there are any local ordinances or regulations surrounding these spaces. Sometimes they are used as easements for utilities which means you may not be able to use the space at all or that you would at least have to be aware that your plantings could be disturbed at any time without notice to you. There also can be regulations as to what plants you may use and the height of these plants so that the views of drivers are not obstructed in any way.

Additionally, you’ll need to consider that your street may be used for public parking and that space must be available for people to access and exit from their vehicle. Some municipalities also prohibit the installation of hardscaping such as pavers or decorative stone. Many cities have guidelines, which can be found online, that summarize these regulations and what you can do or not do in these spaces.

Once you know the rules for gardening in these spaces there are still other considerations. You’ll need to either remove the grass or smother it in some fashion and it is going to take some work to improve the soil in these areas. It is likely to be highly compacted due to foot traffic and if you live in areas of the country where it snows the soil may need to be tested to see if it has elevated levels of salts. This means adding lots of organic matter such as compost before you begin planting.

Choosing the plants you’ll use in the space is also important. Not only do you have to comply with any regulations, but you’ll likely not be able to install any irrigation system in the area. The plants you use need to be drought tolerant and able to withstand the use of sand and salt in areas where snow and ice are a concern. Plants that are native to your area will likely do well in these spaces and several good choices might be succulents, Black-eyed Susan, coneflowers and ornamental grasses.

Many of these areas are also found on tree-lined streets which can make choosing the plants a little more difficult as they might be competing with tree roots in addition to the challenges mentioned previously. Daylilies and hostas can be good choices in these difficult growing conditions and groundcovers like lily of the valley are also able to tolerate these environments.

If you decide to take on a project like this yourself or even if you just see a beautiful example of it in your neighborhood please share it with us on our Facebook page!