The boulevard garden has been my biggest gardening challenge – a definite exercise in trial and error. There are a lot of gardening obstacles when it comes to boulevard gardening. As common on many boulevards, we have a tree (maple) with a big root system, many of the roots hang out close to the surface of the garden making it difficult for plants to grow. In the winter our Minneapolis boulevards are piled high with snow and the salt used on the streets affects the acidity of the soil. Water is necessary for any garden but on the boulevard rain water repels off the boulevard making its way to sewer drains without having a chance to deeply soak the soil. It takes some foresight to consider irrigation and plan trenches to keep mulch and water inside the garden so it’s not spilling into the street and sewers. It sucks, but some people don’t give a shit about my garden, they throw trash and cigarettes butts in it, and they walk right over plants – it’s just the risk we have to take for a pretty boulevard. Lastly, boulevards and weeds are BFF’s, it’s a constant struggle to keep them looking tidy, neat, and dandelion free.
So I’ve learned a few things a long the way, and I thought I’d share a little of what has been working for me.
I waited a long while before I tidied up the garden this year. The boulevard maple was dropping all of it’s seeds and flowers, all lime green in color. I didn’t want to spent the time cleaning the garden just to have it littered with that tree’s filth – “How dare you, Tree!” I spent the last few days doing some intense weeding, pulling the weeds up from their roots. This is the key to weeding, you need to get the roots out of your garden or they will grow back within days. I also took my edger and dug a 3″ trench around the perimeter of the garden allowing a place for the mulch to collect when it rains so it doesn’t skim off into the street and sidewalks. I mulched well, covering a bit more than I do in my normal flower beds (about 2″). I really want the plants roots to be shaded and cool. The deep covering of mulch will allow for good water retention as well. I’ve also made a promise to this garden and tree that I will water it twice a week all summer long. I highly neglected it in the past, I’m going to do right by this garden this year. I’m going for an even prettier and happy boulevard garden in 2015!
So I wanna know, what works best in your boulevard garden? What are your experiences – I’m sure readers who are wanting to try their hand at a boulevard garden would love to hear your take on it. I’m looking to add some late summer blooming plants – any recommendations on what would do well here?