This is my nature strip that you see in many of the photos on this website.

The strip has a street tree planted by Council (you just phone and ask for one), with mainly native shrubs, grasses and groundcovers.

This helps cool the street and adds biodiversity and wildlife habitat.

No grass means no emissions from mowers and no noise pollution.

I planted it in four stages – the driveway and concrete footpath create four gardens beds. I did the beds against the front fence first and the others the following year.

Note the mulch path for access to the post box. I watched the postie on their bike to see where the natural path should go.

The reaction from neighbours was at first bemused and then overwhelmingly positive. Many stop and chat on their walks. The garden is a good conversation starter.

The design is deliberately non-confrontational and the inclusion of flowers has been very important. You can regularly see native bees and butterflies on the flowers.

There are two bird baths inside the property boundary as you cannot include those in a verge garden. The food garden inside benefits from the extra pollinators attracted by the native plans on the nature strip.

The close groundcover is a mix of Viola hederacea / banksii, Mazus pumilio and Dichondra repens.

The plants have changed over the years as some plants struggle and others thrive. I also noticed that after the first two years, people started crossing the road here into the centre of the garden instead of walking along to the next driveway so the design was adapted to cater for that.

I think shade from street trees and interesting gardens makes walking more attractive and encourages a more active lifestyle. The changes in gardens gives variety.

This garden helped the young street tree get established and protects it from mowers and people parking cars on the verge.

This garden is my public statement to the neighbourhood – the environment matters and we can rethink the way we live and the way we share our streets.

The garden complies with Brisbane City Council guidelines.

See more about what I’ve learned from planting on the verge and list of plants here.