Nature Strip planting mindfulness

Noticing where I live more people are planting up their nature strips (they might be called verge gardens also), well ... we call them nature strips in Australia. We are using these strips as a place to get down and a little dirty (or not) and becoming very mindful about how we use these spaces.

The nature strip for those reading from overseas, is the kerbed area between your house and the footpath (or sidewalk) that is usually green but in many cases is becoming a rainbow mix, with shrubs, grasses, vegies, fruit trees, herbaceous perennials, etc.  In Australia we are lucky to have so much space, that many of us have front lawns, and gardens, unless of course we live in flats or units or built up areas.

Well, there are a few design and sustainability issues that need to be remembered with planting up your verge or nature strip: hmm .... well don't many of us forget that lawns sequester carbon emissions.  Yes, they do! So we can expend energy on mowing them (I personally persist with an old hand mower), and if you plant a slow growing lawn, on balance the lawn will kick in more of a carbon sink than you think!

So think about what lawn you are going to have (how thirsty, how durable, how fast growing) and if ever in doubt ask the people at your local nursery.

Secondly, if you are going to have a verge planted up with shrubs -  be mindful about maximum height. Shrubs on a nature strip can cause vision hazards. Ideally they shouldn't get much taller than a metre, for any taller than this, they can be a bit tricky to see over when backing out on to the roadway.  An ideal plant in Australia is the  spreading wattle with bright green foliage - Acacia cognata mini cog and smallish grevillea shrubs.

Thirdly, another matter to remember is the mulch that you put down on your nature strip, assuming you are planting it up, can end up in the drains, as can the soil (if you don't use mulch). Now some people don't realise that the organic matter (along with all the other stuff: hydrocarbons, fertilisers, pathogens) we allow to filch in to our drains can cause an imbalance as it ends up in our waterways, as the aerobic - anaerobic what za doodles get all out of whack.  I didn't do well at biology so readers might like to go away and research this. It has a lot to do with the plants and aquatic species getting the incorrect amount of oxygen, because there is a build-up of toxins in the water. Take it from those who did a sustainable landscape design diploma - to prove to herself she isn't a biological dunces - that it doth matter what we putteth down our draineth. Those readers who did actually get a pass for biology, and any other design matters, please do feel free to add your comment.

So this is yet another reason why I extol the virtues of maintaining a lawn and using a manual mower on the nature strip.  Because there is less organics getting blown and washed away.  Lawns are very nifty when it comes to keeping the substrate all nicely tucked in. If you do plant up the nature strip, we do recommend the mulch be sourced from a reclaimed timber industry source, but the mulch will have to be replenished from time to time.

This is where the produce is left for neighbours to share! Fantastic!

One design tip - is to plant up the nature strip fully so that there is less chance of organics being distributed on to the road and in to drains. You will need a more built up area for where you pass to get in to your car (pavers, gravel etc), and park the rubbish bins etc. Why not have a book exchange box or share your vegies box on your nature strip, too!

Book exchange box several suburbs away 

We also need to be mindful ( we learnt to be perpetually and perennially mindful in our sustainable landscaing diploma) about weeds self-seeding along our verges and front gardens .... don't get me started on Aganpanthus praecox subspecies! Plants are like children; it pays to do a head count every now and then!

Oh and I almost forgot to add that you will probably have to register your intention to 'refurbish' your nature strip with your local council or municipal government authority, as the case may be, as the nature strip is really public property.

Here's two little rhyming sequences from a while back to compensate for this being a very all over the place blogpost, and because a few of us are gearing up for the Get Eco-Creative Exhibition at the Sustainable Living Festival coming up in Melbourne, here is one attempt at eco-creativity to tempt you, to come along.

Remember our platypuses
Think of our cranes, 
Take care with the slop
You put down your drains!


Ahh, drains, how do I love thee
Let me count all the types
Let us count the wildlife
At the end of our pipes ....

A John Ruskin Quote - However, Plants are Not Made Equal

Agies seeding themselves, and in the
front garden, too! 

Being thus prepared for us in all ways, and made beautiful, and good for food, and for building,
and for instruments of our hands, this race of plants, deserving boundless affection and
admiration from us, becomes, in proportion to their obtaining it, a nearly perfect test of our
being in right temper of mind and way of life; so that no one can be far wrong in either who
loves trees enough, and everyone is assuredly wrong in both who does not love them,
if his life has brought them in his way."
-   John Ruskin, 1819-1900, Modern Painters VI  

That quote pretty much captures it all.

But there is one thing I should add that all plants and trees are not made equal.  Noxious and environmental weeds are our second largest ecological issue in this country, after land-clearing. 

On one of my more dangerous landscaping jobs this week which involved a piece of metal getting wedged in my eye along with a smidgeon of rust, I did still spy a goodly number of Agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox spp. orientalis) spreading about the eastern and inner suburbs of Melbourne (and coastally, too). It is a real takeover bid in public and private places. What I don't like is how they dwarf a lot of the native shrubs and really look quite silly protruding out of otherwise quite tame garden beds.  It's important to dead head them ie remove the flowers before the seeds disperse.

Over the holidays, I will send some letters to councils and local papers about this.  In the meantime, check out this list of well-known weeds.

http://www.gregsindigenouslandscapes.com.au/Environmental%20Weeds.htm

A cynical poem for gardens

Getting dirt under our nails
bothers our tidy minds
as do the bric a brac, cupboards jam-packed with jam jars
that don't match
because our shiny home so bright
we see our reflection in
shows up the dirt on our sheeny boots.

So we pack away the tired old things,
the objets that don't match
we bury the soil,
bury the bugs,
tramp down the worms,
scare away the bees
that need the trees,
that feed our afternoon teas.

We uproot the shrubs and put in a cordyline or three.
It is a  local environment take over bid
No habitat is thine
but an tidy outdoor room
where one might dine
gas heater, and all
and a silver spoon or two
(to see our reflections in.)