Hi folks. The hellstrip in front of my apartment is, well, a hellstrip for sure, it’s very sad looking with some patchy grass for dogs to pee on. Is there anything I could do to convert it into something nicer? I’ve been reading about guerilla planting but I don’t really have the physical ability to go downstairs and water it, weed it etc like a full garden with shrubs and stuff, but I could probably get my partner to throw some water on it occasionally when they come home from work.
Probably asking for a miracle here, but is there anything I can just sprinkle over the area that’ll take over and turn into something nice?
Presumably, it gets mowed? If not, I’d say to find a local wildflower mix and sow it in late fall/winter. Lots of plants tolerate this well cause it’s how they naturally reproduce. You dont have to worry about water as much that way because they sprout and start putting down roots way before the weather gets hot and dry.
Another thing to consider is salt. If that area gets exposed to a lot of road salt, it might cut down your options a bit.
It does get mowed :C I would really love to spread wildflowers there if not. As for salt - my road almost never gets salt in the winter (thanks city council for turning a drive to get groceries into Spicy Bumper Cars) so that’s no worry! Any suggestions on somewhere else I could put the wildflowers? My city is remarkably well-maintained in the mowing department, much to my dismay
One thing that I’ve noticed is that hellstrips are usually compacted to all hell (in the southeast by me at least) since all the utilities guys compact the ground after burying something, so even natives might struggle if they need to be able to shove their roots more than an inch into the ground. I’m all for sprinkling seeds about, but see if you can look for some that are creepers rather than deep taprooters
Wouldn’t deep taproots from things like dandelions help break up compacted soil?
Good to know, thank you!! Shallow roots o7
I’ve seen people get packets of native wildflower seeds and just toss them over the ground. Since they’re native, they should do ok without much help from you.
Any rough hint on your location for native planting advice?
Northeast US! I know that doesn’t narrow it down all that much but y’know
You can find your ecoregion here: https://bplant.org/regions.php
For example, I’m in the Eastern Temperate Forests. If you are too, this list can get you started: https://choosenatives.org/articles/plant-native-ground-covers-make-america-green/
According to the website, I am right on the border of Eastern Temperate Forest and Northern Forest. Apparently my house is in Eastern Temperate Forest, but the ten minute drive to my local SCA practice takes me to Northern Forest. My favorite used clothing store is Eastern Temperate but the creek I take my dog to is Northern Forest XD Does that mean I should look at options for Northern Forest too or is it pretty accurate to the mile?
Since you’re so close, I say give something on the list a try. Plants don’t pay attention to our maps anyway :) There’s a search bar at the bottom of the page for each ecoregion where you can plug in the plant name to see if it pops up.
I’m further south than you near the Chesapeake Bay, so hopefully someone else swings by for more specific advice. I do stick by the common blue violet and native wood sorrell suggestion, especially if the area is mowed. Start small and see what sticks, experimenting is part of the process!
From the second list, a mix of green-and-gold and wild stonecrop with some interspersed clusters of lyreleaf sage sounds great for an apartment hellstrip in the NE, but I don’t know a whole lot about how easy and economical it would be to acquire the seeds to create said mix.
That sounds beautiful! Places like Prairie Moon Nursery sell seed in bulk, but it’s better to find local sources if possible. iNaturalist can be good for this. You’d have to look up when they go to seed and be mindful not to over harvest.
Personally, I would test the waters with landscapers using common blue violets and native wood sorrels since they aggressively spread themselves. They can handle a wide variety of conditions and mowing.
What are our thoughts on throwing the blue violets and lyreleaf sage in together? I love me some flowers and my balcony garden isn’t currently doing much for our local pollinators. Plus the description of the lyreleaf even says it can survive hellstrips and if the blue violets are pretty aggressive then it sounds like a powerful combo
That sounds like a good start! Next best time to seed and/or plant is the fall. Common blue violets make seeds around then if you want to collect them yourself.
oh that’s convenient! We do have violets in the backyard, maybe I could harvest the seeds then. I don’t think I’ve ever harvested seeds from anything before.
EDIT: after some reading, it seems that lyreleaf sage is not present in my area (which I’m starting to think is a little bit of an unusual spot ecologically). But the wild strawberries on the list are! Wild strawberries and blue violets sounds so magical…
