A Return to Gardening in Hell (Strips)
A year in the life of a new planting in harsh conditions
The hell strip has passed its prime this season. This morning, it wasn’t looking especially vibrant.
I wrote about my adventures in hell strip gardening a year and a half ago and I figured it was time for an update. As I explained in that post from July of 2023:
A “hell strip” is the strip of grass or plantings located between the sidewalk and the road where, as the name implies, the conditions are inhospitable. Surrounded by asphalt and cement, they’re typically hot and dry in the summer. In the winter they’re often sprayed with salt or other harsh snow melting treatments. All year round, they’re a prime space for dogs to relieve themselves.
When we first moved into our house the ninety-nine long foot strip was a narrow bed of weedy grass.
Last summer, we pulled out as many tufts of grass and weeds as we could and sheet mulched over all of it.
Next we planted over 100 plugs of hell-tolerant plants including prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), allium ‘Millenium,’ foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis), a variety of phlox and a cute cultivar of aster called ‘Snow Flurry.’ Local horticultural wizards, John Totten and Linda Kramer, helped me select and source the plants. This is what it looked like right after planting:
I wasn’t sure what to expect this summer and I was shocked by the results. The hell strip came back in a big way looking anything but hellish! The show started in early April when the allium started emerging.
By early June the foxglove beardtongue was blooming and threatening to take over the sidewalk.
By late June the allium was starting to bloom alongside the seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens).
In early August the allium was still going strong.
And the season wasn’t done yet. In September, the ‘Snow Flurry’ aster exploded with thousands of tiny, adorable blooms.
I was delighted to see how well everything did in its first full season. The biggest issue this year was trying to keep the area free of crabgrass and thistle. I’m curious to see how this planting evolves in future seasons. The low-growing aster spread like crazy this year and I’m curious whether it’ll start to overwhelm other plants. Stay tuned for more updates from hell!
What have you been planting in your hell strips? I’d love to hear about it!
And one more thing: Jared Barnes took a visit to Chantincleer, one of my favorite gardens, in November when it's normally closed to the public. Turns out its a magical place no matter what month it is. You can read about his special visit here.
Thanks so much for the update! Who knew hell was so pretty and full of life??
Beautiful! This help strip looks amazing