Be prepared to lose it all
Be prepared to lose it all
The verge can be dug up, often without notice if services like power, water, and NBN, have to be maintained or added.
It can also change as our cities become more urbanised. You don't have squatters rights over that land.
And sometimes it's because there's been a complaint and council has ruled that the garden has to go, or has come in and removed it.
When looking at major disputes, the angry response from residents often seems to stem from being unprepared for this loss.
So, how do you cope?
One way is to see what you've done and what has happened as learning experiences.
You can remind yourself the the soil health has improved so the next plants will have a head start.
You can remember all the conversations and the influence you and your garden might have had.
And you can start on a new garden, making sure that you stay within the guidelines. Invest the time into understanding the complexity of the space and getting to know your local community nursery or catchment group to source cheap native tubestock plants.
If you invest too much money or emotion into the plants, you're setting yourself up for a painful dispute.
These free articles are part of the Understanding the Space series: bite-sized introductions to gardening in these small but wonderfully complex spaces.