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Written by: Mary Anne Young
Summer is upon us in most of Canada (notwithstanding the snowfalls in my area of Ontario over the first week of May, and the recent hailstorm in Calgary) and many people's minds have turned to gardening. As such we're going to start peppering our blog entries with gardening and landscape design tips. One of CanPlant's staff received a question recently about boulevard gardens:
"Hey wondering if you might have recommendations on what to plant in a Boulevard. We had a crazy weed to take over that area, so it has now been dug out, and new soil is going in there. So, we are starting from fresh soil. As you know it would need to be very sun/heat tolerant, and obviously has dogs stepping on it and sometimes kids, as people walk by. One landscape friend suggested creeping thyme with lavender (for height and interest). Any other ideas?"
Boulevard gardens may seem easy at first – it is an open strip of land, free for the planting! However, in practice they can be a bit tricky due to difficult growing conditions and municipal restrictions.
First of all, it may seem obvious but I'm going to answer the question “what is a boulevard”? Technically the word boulevard refers to a wide, tree-lined street. But in the context of this article the boulevard is the no-man's-land between the curb and the sidewalk on many urban and suburban streets. This area is within what is known as the road right-of-way, which is usually municipally owned land on either side of the road that is used for utilities (aboveground or underground). Boulevards are heavy-use areas which may be used for everything from piling snow, foot traffic, car drop-off areas, and dogs' rest stops.
Vegetation in boulevards usually consists of grass and generally one tree per property. There is a growing trend across Canada of residents planting boulevard gardens, thereby beautifying the street, providing additional nectar sources for pollinators, and contributing to heat island mitigation. Cities with growing boulevard garden traditions include Victoria, Vancouver, Kitchener, Toronto, and Halifax.
Boulevards tend to be difficult places to grow plants – the soil conditions are often poor, there is little shade, and there can be high salt levels from winter maintenance or pets. Therefore, plants should be chosen accordingly. The municipality may need at some point to dig up the bed, so woody plants like trees and shrubs should be avoided; this leaves hardy annual and perennial plants as the ideal boulevard species. You can also consider hard landscaping like rocks if they are small enough to be moved in the aforementioned occasional dig.
Here are some sample native plant palettes that will work in boulevards in different places across Canada. These are all full sun gardens, have yellow or blue/purple colour palettes, and have maximum bloom later in the season:
Calgary
Toronto
Vancouver
Before planting, you should have a utility locate completed to make sure you won't be digging into underground utilities (this is a free service in many areas) and call or check your municipality's website to see if there are any boulevard planting restrictions or free resources.
Have questions about using native plants in your gardening or landscape design project that you'd like to see highlighted in a future blog post? Send us a note using the form on the Contact Us page. We love hearing from our users.
Links
New Westminster• ASK PAT: Bees and Boulevards https://patrickjohnstone.ca/2019/07/ask-pat-bees-and-boulevards.html
Kitchener• Recommendations for boulevard plantings in the City of Kitchener (PDF) https://www.lovemyhood.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/CSD_NDO_Toolkit_Plant-List.pdf
Halifax• Halifax council to discuss guidelines for boulevard gardens https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/boulevard-gardens-halifax-council-1.5327721
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Written by: Nicole White
Be on the lookout for native plant species at your supermarket garden centre: In Ontario, Loblaws has partnered with Carolinian Canada and the World Wildlife Foundation's In the Zone initiative to bring native plant stock into 35 stores across the province. This is exciting news, because it makes ecologically-sound gardening a little more accessible for our plant people in the Carolinian Zone!
In the Zone plants sighted at a local Zehrs garden centre. Photo courtesy of Sofia Becerra.
We love initiatives like this, which make it easier to get locally-grown, ethically-sourced plants into the hands of gardeners. By supporting pollinators and other wildlife, and existing as an alternative to potentially invasive ornamentals, these plants can make a real contribution to the health of urban areas.
If you live in Southern Ontario, head out to one of these participating stores and demonstrate that there's consumer demand for native plant stock in mainstream retail outlets by buying some plants. Or if you arrive and they're all sold out, this might be a great time to ask when they'll be getting more!
CanPlant isn't affiliated with any of the businesses involved -- we just think that small steps like this could represent a positive shift in how Canadians relate to plants.
Here's an interactive map you can explore to find a participating store, and check out the nurseries that are supplying them.
If you'd like to share what's going on in your own zone to help people engage with ecologically-friendly gardening practices, please Contact Us and let us know!
Further Reading:
• Where to Find Native Plants - In The Zone
• Loblaws In The Zone Species List
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CanPlant Blog 18 January 4, 2021 |
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