An Apron or a Long Paddock

Whether verge gardening remains a niche activity or becomes common enough to play a part in greening our cities depends a lot on how we view the patch of land in front of our homes.

Perspectives change when you look at things from different angles.

Are verges aprons to our houses or corridors in a street? Or viewed from above, are they like networks or veins of our cities?

Car-centric culture where people come and go by private car encourages the view of the verge as an apron in front of a house. When you arrive home, it’s like a welcome mat, or threshold, or when wide enough, an apron. From inside the property, looking out toward the road it’s even more like an apron.

Standing in the middle of a verge garden, it can still feel like your territory and part of the street appeal of your house. But raise your eyes and look along the street; even better walk along the footpath and approach from different directions. Now you get the pedestrian view of a neighbourhood, and your verge is one of a long line, and the houses are just bystanders to the main action.

This view of a verge garden as part of a corridor could be described as a modern-day "long paddock". It’s not mine, it’s everybody’s, and it connects everybody and everything.

The Australian “long paddock” was the stock routes that threaded around the country, long strips of land, thought of as less important than the large paddocks at the side. In times of drought, they were also used to graze stock. The amount of land added up to be much larger than any individual holding.

Our modern-day, urban, long paddock is no stock route - it’s the streets reimagined as pollinator corridors, wildlife corridors, and pedestrian pathways threading through our cities. My verge is no longer a small patch of land in front of my home, but a part of a massive amount of land that forms corridors throughout the suburbs and city.

The corridor view of the verge garden placing pedestrians as primary users is the key to gaining support from the wider community and councils.

It all adds up

My single verge garden has created 58 square meters of biodiverse habitat with more than 20 species of local native plants - within the existing council policy.

If 2 out of 3 of the residents in my council ward planted out 40 sq metres it would create 50 hectares of biodiverse habitat supporting street trees and creating green, shady, nature corridors.

If 2 out of 3 of the residents in the Brisbane City Council area planted it would create 1000+ hectares of biodiverse habitat and transform the city - without the need to purchase any land.

Can you do some calculations for your street, suburb, or city?

Will you be part of the group that do replace mowing grass with nurturing a native verge garden, or be the one who doesn't?

Will you be the first one in your street who starts, or the second person who turns it into a trend?

Has this changed the way you think about your verge? Please share your thoughts and experiences with others in the comments.

This free article is part of the Understanding the Space section of the
Shady Lanes Project: bite-sized introductions to gardening in these small but wonderfully complex public spaces.

Next Section: What and How You Plant