Many of you followed the story of the city citation for my wildflower parkway garden. If you didn’t you can read about it here. To make a long story short, a neighbor called the city to report that our garden was out of compliance with the city parkway landscape improvement ordinance. According to that ordinance plants must be grass or groundcover no higher than twelve inches.
I went to city council to plead my case and was told I could keep it while the city re-considers the ordinance given the severe water restrictions we are facing. I also went to our Natural Resources and Environment Commission to request that they recommend to city council changes to this ordinance that would encourage low-water use landscaping.
So now that the issue is on hold I have decided to clean things up, as I do each year, but this year I will open it up more, remove some larger plants, and create more paths between the street and the sidewalk. This speaks to some of the reasons for the ordinance, but will still allow the native habitat garden to remain.
I want to thank everyone who commented and sent emails of support. The garden is quieter now and a bit ragged looking, but there are lots of birds and insects flitting around, so stop by and enjoy!
seed harvesting in parkway garden
 |
| From Wild Suburbia |
small caterpillar nourishes itself on juicy seedpod
 |
| From Wild Suburbia |
lots of globe gilia (Gilia capitata) with seeds ready for the picking
 |
| From Wild Suburbia |
a few bird’s eye gilia (Gilia tricolor) remain
 |
| From Wild Suburbia |
Hi Barbara,<br /><br />I’ve realised the importance of keeping certain areas wild for the insects. And yours looks like insect haven. Love it! I’m fascinated by every winged visitor I have–and there are many. I have a tiny garden but there’s no empty space!<br /><br />Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I’ve answered your question there…your photos are a treat and I’ll be visiting often
Thanks Kanak. Yes I have lots of insects and every evening phoebes go crazy, swooping around and catching insects mid-air. They fight over the insects among themselves, grabbing them away when they can. So much fun!<br /><br />I’m enjoying your blog as well and will stop there later tonight.
Your parkway garden is wonderful! I'd be proud to have it in my neighborhood as a consolation for all the sterile and boring grass strips. I hope you can keep it. Cynthia