Whether you call it the verge, tree lawn, banquette, boulevard, or curb strip (or any of several dozen other names, depending on where you grew up), that piece of land between the sidewalk and street is a difficult row to hoe. Often, the soil is compacted and crummy. But, with an area that’s typically at least 25 feet long by several feet wide, this underappreciated real estate fronting most of Belmont’s residences provides many square feet of gardening opportunity and an invitation to experiment.
These narrow plots are publicly owned, and many host a town tree or two. They are likely to get stepped on, rolled over, sprayed with rock salt, or even dug up by utility companies. Fun fact: Some urban planners call the strip the “furniture zone,” not because you might find a free couch or bookcase there, but because they are furnished with infrastructure such as telephone poles, street signs, and fire hydrants.
All the competing assaults on these roadside strips explain why those that are covered with more than just lawn (or crabgrass) often sport a rather haphazard and low-budget aesthetic. But the carefree hellstrip—a term coined by landscape architect Lauren Springer Ogden in the 1990s and the one I use—can patiently be coaxed into a thing of beauty, adding curb appeal, providing screening from passing cars, and inviting passing pedestrians to marvel at a feeding butterfly.
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In my cursory survey of Belmont’s creative hellstrips, I noted a lush groundcover of cranesbill and hardy mums in dappled shade on Pleasant, a kaleidoscope of cleome and zinnias on Clifton, a riot of goldenrod and other native plants on Fairview, an aromatic monocrop of lavender on Larch Circle, and a 3-inch-wide carpet of sprawling portulaca on a particularly narrow and rocky strip along Agassiz Street.
Traveling around town during Porchfest last weekend, you may have noticed some of these examples or other favorites. Are you eager to tap the potential of your own hellstrip? Fall is a great time to divide and rehome perennials from the rest of your yard, shop end-of-season sales at nurseries, or check for freebies on Facebook Marketplace or gardening-related groups online.
Roger Wrubel, retired director of Mass Audubon Habitat, started planting his hellstrip on Slade Street about 15 years ago, after tiring of the “boringness of grass.” One year, he added sunflowers—although they are an annual, they reliably self-seed, so he only had to plant once. He enjoys the surprise of seeing where along the curb they pop up each year. He also found that mint—a notoriously aggressive spreader in the garden bed—was nicely constrained by the hardscape on either side. On the shadier stretch of his hellstrip, he originally planted clover, but it didn’t come back after the first year. Next, he tried hostas offered by his next-door neighbor, retired science teacher Michael Griffin. After several years of watching his donated hostas flourish, Griffin decided to follow suit, continuing the line of hostas into his own hellstrip. Volunteer beggar’s tick, evening primrose, heliopsis, borage, morning glory, and the ever-peripatetic sunflowers add height and whimsy to both hellstrips.
Deborah Dumaine, who volunteers for The Belmont Voice by selling advertising space, inherited a pollinator haven on her Chilton Street hellstrip when she moved here from Lincoln several years ago. Towering yucca plants, whose native range is further south, thrive in the extra heat radiating from the asphalt street. The yuccas are paired with an impressive stand of common milkweed, plus butterfly weed and several varieties of black-eyed Susans.
Natasha Bregel, a visual artist whose talents extend to her partly shaded hellstrip on Common Street, embarked on its makeover a few months ago. She amended the existing soil with lobster compost and planted a checkerboard of lilyturf (divided from her front yard) and two varieties of mat-forming ajuga, one with lime green foliage and the other dark purple and green. To help the plants establish, she watered on the hot, dry days of summer—we sure had a lot of those this year. She also mulched generously with buckwheat hulls to help retain moisture.
If none of these ideas appeal, consider a tree if you have space for one. Through Belmont’s Commemorative Shade Tree Program, you can choose from a list of dozens of species. A donation of $500.00 takes care of the purchase, planting, and maintenance of the tree. Your gift will be acknowledged on a plaque in Town Hall and on the town’s website. If you wish, you may dedicate your tree to a special person or event.
Jenny has been gardening in Belmont since 2001 and became a member of the Belmont Garden Club in 2019. From 2010 to 2013, she was the volunteer editor for the Belmont Farmers’ Market newsletter, “Roots & Sprouts.” As a Garden Gems columnist, she is excited to delve into Belmont’s horticultural history and current green spaces and share tips from local experts on diverse aspects of gardening and related pursuits.
