Sidewalk strip

The sidewalk strip is the strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the street. It has no official name, and people call it many things. A median strip, a parking strip, a terrace, a boulevard or a hell strip, among other names.

Depending on where you live and your climate, this strip can be subjected to very harsh conditions. Especially in the northern urban areas, where cold winters, heavy foot traffic and the salt in the winters can kill virtually anything you plant.

Hardy plants for cold city climates

• English Ivy
• Periwinkle
• Gro-Low fragrant sumac - an 18 inch shrub with minty green leaves
• Prairie dropseed - very hard grass with tiny pink flowers
• Pussytoes - fluffy white spring bloom
• Aromatic aster - daisylike lavender flowers in late fall
• Fragrant hyssop - to 5 feet high
• Sheep fescue - bluish grass
• Dwarf sea buckthorn 'Sprite' - very salt tolerant
• Cushion phlox - white and pink flowers produced early spring
• Buffalo grass - drought tolerant turf grass
• Grape hyacinth - purple flower clusters in spring, exceptionally hardy

External links

• Planting the Strip Between Sidewalk and Street - NY Times article used as reference.