Beautify streetscapes by making a verge garden | Garden Design and Inspiration | Gardening Australia

Josh drops in on a community of gardeners reclaiming their verges with impressive results. Whether you know them as verges or a nature strips, the area of council land nestled alongside the footpath at the front of our houses are central features of our urban environments, but are often nothing more than a waste of space, an area that requires maintenance but gives back so little. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Across Australia, there's a growing awareness of the potential of these underutilised, unloved spaces to be transformed into something so much more. Josh is heading back to his old stomping ground of White Gum Valley, 3 kms from Fremantle, to meet the Valley Vergers, a collective of 30 or so WGV residents with a common goal - to convert their verges from wide expanses of lawn and weeds into beautiful, functional gardens. Their aim? To grow great gardens, boost biodiversity and cultivate community…..all on council land!
And it makes sense. “The verges are huge” says Dave Broun, founding member of the White Gum Valley Vergers. ”Ours, because it is on a corner block, is over 300m2, but even standard verges here are generally over 100m2”. Dave purchased his home in WGV almost ten years ago, and says the verge at that time was just “couch grass, weeds, and one established Tuart Tree (Eucalyptus gomphocephala). I didn’t realise it at the time we bought, but this unused space was just bursting with potential”. He’s not wrong. Although only planted a couple of years ago, Dave’s verge is now bursting with biodiversity, a massive 350 individual plants from 100 different species now occupying this once barren space.
“All of the plants I have put in are WA natives, and most are endemic to this area of the Swan Coastal Plain” says Dave. He is particularly proud of his Quandongs (Santalum acuminatum) that are thriving in the shallow limestone soil, utilising Acacia saligna as hosts. “Quandong are hemi parasitic, so somewhere underground it’s roots have latched on to the Acacia for some extra water and nutrients. These were planted on the verge a bit over 18 months ago and have done splendidly.
While Dave’s verge is all about locally native plant species and a naturalistic style of planting, this is not the case with other Valley Vergers. Directly opposite Dave’s place is the home of fellow valley Vergers Ian and Daphne, long term WGV residents and avid verge gardeners. “Our style is a little different to Dave’s, it’s more formal with the terraces and edges we’ve put in, and we like to clip and shape some of our plants to provide some different sculptural elements” says Ian. The planting style is also different, with Ian and Daphne’s verge a mix of native plants, non-invasive exotics and even some fruit trees. “That’s the nice thing about the verges that are developing within WGV, and the Valley Verges - it doesn’t have to ‘look’ a certain way, or conform to a blueprint” says Ian. “As long as our planting and landscaping complies with council requirements, we are good to go”.
Council requirements and guidelines are an important element for anyone considering planting out a verge to understand and comply with. “It’s really important to ensure that you are designing and gardening these spaces in accordance with what your council has agreed to. Most councils have readily available resources around what can and can’t be done” says Dave. “Know the location of services, both above and below ground, before you plan or plant anything - Dial before you Dig is an excellent resource for that”. Safety is a huge part of verge gardening - “you have to ensure that vehicles have clear sight lines, that overhead infrastructure isn’t interfered with, and that pedestrians and people alighting from vehicles are able to move through the spaces safely”.
Featured Plants:
QUANDONG - Santalum acuminatum
GOLDEN WREATH WATTLE - Acacia saligna
EREMOPHILA - Eremophila sp.
KANGAROO GRASS - Themeda triandra
TUART - Eucalyptus gomphocephala
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[@yeahrightbear8883]

There is a small spot next to the building where I work that really needs something done about it. It's nothing but weeds and thorns and trash that has blown in over the years because no one wants to go through the thorns to get the trash out. It's a mess. I'm thinking about doing something about it myself and turning it into something beautiful.

[@MissMultiConsole]

Love seeing things getting changed for the better.

[@GardeningAustralia]

We do too! Thanks for watching.

[@naturewoman1274]

Much better than grass, giving me something to think about

[@zoekenny3619]

Just brilliant! Really love this idea, it brings together so many elements that are urgently needed now. Hopefully this idea will spread to more and more suburbs!

[@GardeningAustralia]

Hopefully!

[@barrywatler7482]

Nice video, if this was done in our shire the council would have ripped it up by now, good on them and thanks for sharing. I might have to call the council to see if they have changed their bylaws.

[@roundduck7005]

Always do things before asking the council

[@JT-xt8bh]

Something to think about,what a wonderful idea

[@happyhappyaus2128]

Love it!

[@nevaehdoesstuff1092]

I love this!

[@neverlostforwords]

A few years ago I planted a Thyrptomene F.C. Payne to replace weeds in a local shopping carpark perimeter border, and kept it watered with water that I brought from home every few days in containers, for several months until it established. It was near some callistemons and other natives and there was plenty of room for it. I even mulched around it with bush mulch. After six months or so I arrived in the carpark one day to see that the council workers had removed it. So disappointing.

[@umidamuminova1023]

Oh no, that's terrible! Council laws are so often environmentally unfriendly and ugly.

[@neverlostforwords]

@@umidamuminova1023 Thanks for your support. I still miss that beautiful thryptomene plant whenever I park there. I have not done that again as I know my gardening efforts are unwelcomed by council. All the best...

[@andrewkymantas3877]

Hit the native gardener up about quondongs

[@gotagreengardening8387]

Cheers for the video legends :)

[@GardeningAustralia]

Thanks for watching!

[@gotagreengardening8387]

@@GardeningAustralia always x

[@brucedeacon28]

👍🍎

[@andyk8322]

I’d love to do this but tge plants would get stolen if I did this

[@EmuMan44]

No brainer

[@chongseitmooi2593]

Awesome...n it's depends what kind of human is running in ur country...haaaaa

[@erroleabrown4317]

You know if the people that have land already got it from being honest they’d be saying how about everyone having land because we can’t survive without it, they’d say things like we should all have land how do we live safely and keep healthy if we don’t all have land, why are some people left out? Why were we charged for land everyone should have? Why are some people treated differently? They’d also say We can’t stand knowing that there’s people out there who don’t have somewhere safe to sleep and their starving they need food, we live in a very corrupt world when only some people get to sleep in their bed and only some get to eat.

[@Chris-ki7rt]

Why does a federally funded broadcaster's CZcams channel need ads on it?

[@neverlostforwords]

Have you seen the federal govt debt lately? That must be the reason.