How to plant a verge or front yard garden

Sometimes people want to plant a garden, but their backyard is unsuitable for some reason- too small, too shady, that's where the dogs and kids like to rampage, etc. More and more people have been breaking out of the mold and trying gardening in their front yards. Some have even taken it down to the edge of the road, on the verge.



If you live just off or right beside a busy road or highway you might not want to plant veggies directly in the ground (in your front OR back yard), as your soil has been absorbing toxic chemicals from car exhaust for quite a few years at this point. A better option would be to make raised garden beds or grow in containers with fresh soil from elsewhere. Also, growing trees or bushes with edible fruit or nuts will greatly cut down on any possible problems that way.

If you are planting down on the verge you might want to check with city ordinances about what you can do there, and how to maintain proper sight-lines for cars. If it turns out to be 'nothing but grass', you can choose to fight that if you like. Someone may thank you for that some day. However, even if you can, the questions of contaminants comes up as well. In Canada we tend to have salt as well as all the other nasty things that come off of cars (brake dust- which has heavy metals in it like cadmium and lead, motor oil, and de-icing chemicals), so planting veggies might not be a good idea. However, flowers don't mind that sort of thing, and it creates another small island for insects, butterflies, and birds.

A lower-work option for a flower garden is the cottage garden style- riotous colour and no need for planning. Most types of flower you plant can be self-seeding or perennial, and the density of planting keeps down unwanted plant volunteers. If you plant native species you won't need to do much watering either, if you choose your plants carefully.

In either case, a good mulch will make your life easier in all respects in terms of lowered need for water and fewer annoying volunteers (like grass- who wants that anyways :)

You can always mix and match as well... Check this out!



These links offer excellent planning advice and examples:
Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network
(very thorough information site)

Advice from a Canadian perspective
(news article)

Potential problems
(news article from Québec)

Global News video on front lawn gardens

Canadian Gardening Magazine- front yard vegetable garden

And then, there's always Pinterest...

Ontario Seed Company- native wildflower seeds

Cottage Gardener- heirloom vegetables and native plant seeds