Last year I wrote and article for Port City Life magazine about “sidewalk gardens” – planting in the strip of soil between the sidewalk and street.
“Over the last several years, residents here have planted lush and vigorous “sidewalk gardens” in the narrow strip of earth along the curb, encouraging passers-by to stop and reflect on the now-softened line between private and public. And in spite of their exposure to car exhaust, winter salt and sand, foot traffic, and unruly dogs, the sidewalk gardens all around Deering Highlands are thriving.”
Just last week the New York Times took up the same subject. (Who says Maine isn’t on the cutting edge of trends?)
Planting the Strip Between Sidewalk and Street
At the end of the article there is a list of recommended plants but I found from the gardeners here in Maine that in spite of the winter salt and sand, foot and dog traffic, just about anything you can grow in your garden will grow in the “hell strip.” Plant away!
Port City really has it going on with the parkway planting; even the common space in Maine seems to be well tended.
It’s cultural phenomena how each area treats (or disallows) planting in the “hell strip” which makes the subject fascinating, even beyond gardening. Mark Kane wrote of hell strips in Iowa and Denver on his blog post and got some conversation going with Amsterdam:http://blog.yourgardenshow.com/hell-strips/#disqus_thread