In the article What Do We Do With That Darned Gravel in the Lawn?, we looked at how to prevent and clean up the accumulations of sand and gravel used as abrasives during the winter that end up on our lawns. But what can poor, laidback gardeners do if they don’t want to see the front of their garden deteriorate, without having to clean it all up every spring… or endure the sight of those famous protective covers?
With a little effort now, it is quite possible to create plantings suited to this type of environment. Remember the golden rule of plant selection: the right plant in the right place. You have to choose plants suited to the conditions of a given location to be successful with your garden. In the situation at hand, the soil is gradually becoming mineralized. Why not adapt and replace the lawn at the side of the street with flowerbeds made up of resilient plants that are adapted to poor, dry and rocky soil?
What’s more, by replacing the lawn with plants, you’ll save yourself the mowing!
Criteria for Choosing Plants
I have created a list of simple criteria to help you choose plants that are suitable for the difficult conditions along the side of the road or pavement. Of course, these criteria will limit your choices, but with a judicious selection and a little work at the start of the installation, you will save yourself a lot of maintenance for years to come.
1. Salt Tolerance
Several plants tolerate the presence of salt well, especially those native to coastal environments. These plants are a good starting point for dealing with the effects of road salts.
2. Resistance to Compaction and Light Trampling
As the soil at the edge of the street can become compacted over time, it is best to choose plants that tolerate compacted soil well. In addition, in these areas, there is always a risk that passers-by will walk on the flowerbeds. Plants that are resistant to trampling are therefore the best choice.
3. Ability to Recover After Physical Damage
With the snow blown by the snow blowers every winter, damage is inevitable. Plants are therefore needed that are able to grow back easily after being crushed, broken or damaged.
4. Tolerance to Sandy or Rocky Soil
There are plants suitable for almost every imaginable condition, from deserts to mountains. For areas where sand, gravel or salt accumulate, plants that like poor, dry or rocky soil should be chosen.
5. Tolerance to Poor Soil
Many plants thrive in nutrient-poor soil. Since the soil along the side of the road loses organic matter over time, it is preferable to choose plants that are adapted to difficult conditions and do not need rich soil.
6. Good Winter Hardiness
Plants at the side of the road often lose the insulating protection of snow, which melts faster due to the sun and salt. It may be a good idea to choose plants with a hardiness zone lower than that of your region, to ensure their survival during the winter.
7. Low or Flexible Growth Habit
The snowblower throws snow violently at these areas. It is therefore better to choose herbaceous perennials or flexible annuals rather than stiff shrubs. Some low-growing, creeping or flexible shrubs can nevertheless withstand it well.
8. Tolerance to Summer Drought
These areas are often hot, dry and exposed to the sun. It is better to favor plants that can survive with little watering.
9. Minimal Maintenance
If you plant to avoid having to collect gravel or put up a tarp every fall, there’s no need to complicate your life with demanding plants. Choose self-sufficient, hardy and undemanding plants.
10. Non-invasive
As in any garden, avoid exotic species known for their invasive nature. This is even more important here: these disturbed environments are perfect for opportunistic plants, which could quickly take over and harm local species.
Some Tough Plants for Curbside Gardens
Of course, I couldn’t leave you without offering you a small selection of plants for street borders, combining hardiness, salt tolerance, low maintenance and excellent adaptation to difficult conditions.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
A hardy, cosmopolitan perennial that grows in poor, dry, salty and compacted soil, while being very floriferous and easy to maintain.
Mugwort (Artemisia spp.)
Silver foliage, light growth and very hardy: it tolerates salt, drought, gravel and compaction with ease, while keeping weeds at bay.
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
A robust native grass with a flexible upright habit, it is resistant to salt, heat and compaction and offers foliage with superb purple hues in the fall.
Feather Reed-Grass ‘Karl Foerster’ (Calamagrostis × acutiflora)
An upright ornamental grass, very hardy and easy to grow, it tolerates road salt and poor soil and remains decorative all winter.
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
This small nitrogen-fixing shrub is perfect for dry, sunny slopes. It is hardy, has a discreet but charming flowering habit, and is remarkably tolerant of difficult conditions.
Flat Sea Holly (Eryngium planum)
This thistle is hardy and easy to grow, tolerating very dry and gravelly soil, and is a champion at withstanding trampling and salt.
Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites)
An original perennial, creeping, resistant to salt, sand and drought; it offers a beautiful structure even when not in bloom.
Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca)
A small, very graphic bluish tuft, it likes dry, drained soil, tolerates salt and requires very little maintenance, making it perfect for the front of flowerbeds.
Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
Originally from coastal environments battered by the wind and salt, it is ideal in poor, compact and dry soil, with pretty pink flowers.
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
A low grass, tolerant of drought, salt and trampling, it forms a pretty undulating carpet perfect for poor soils, even in dry urban areas.
Houseleek (Sempervivum spp.)
These rustic succulents survive in the most unforgiving corners, withstand heat, cold, salt, sand… and love being neglected.
Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa, syn. Potentilla fruticosa)
This hardy little shrub, which is highly tolerant of salt and drought, forms a dense, low-growing clump and requires minimal maintenance, making it perfect for exposed urban sites.
Stonecrop (Sedum spp.)
Tolerant of poor soil, sedums store water, are resistant to pretty much everything and offer a beautiful diversity of colors and textures.
Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
With its spreading habit and great adaptability, this woody ground cover is resistant to salt, trampling and drought, while offering superb autumn foliage.
Woolly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus)
A dense ground cover, soft to the touch, which resists light trampling, salt, drought and forms an aesthetic and aromatic carpet.
Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
Equally robust, it spreads low to the ground, flowers abundantly and tolerates dry, compact and difficult environments very well.
Note: some very hardy native plants are also plants from disturbed environments, so some tend to spread. So don’t be surprised if your flowerbed changes over time!
One last thing: avoid cleaning these flowerbeds too much. By leaving the leaves and stems in place in the fall, and even in the spring, you will feed the soil with organic matter, which will help prevent its excessive mineralization.
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