We’ve developed draft Street Garden Guidelines along with a 'recommended' and 'do not plant' list of species, to provide direction to residents who want to plant gardens within our streetscapes.

We’re now asking you to review these Guidelines and let us know if we’ve covered everything that needs to be considered when planning a street garden.

What are street gardens?

A street garden is any non-edible community planting in Council managed streetscapes. These gardens are supported by Council and cared for by the community.

Examples of street gardens include planting within the lawn nature strip in front of your house or planting within an existing tree plot.

Why do we need guidelines?

There are many benefits to street gardens which not only beautify our streetscapes but also cool our city and provide habitat to increase local biodiversity.

We’re supportive of these community street gardens, however there are several issues that need to be considered when planting a street garden to ensure that our streetscapes remain safe, accessible and that plantings do not damage other assets including our street trees.

We currently don’t have any guidelines which provide advice on what needs to be considered when planning a community garden on Yarra’s streets. To ensure our community has all the information they need to create a successful and compliant street garden, we have created draft Street Garden Guidelines.

These Guidelines are based on a review of all other inner-metropolitan Council nature strip and street garden guidelines and are in line with these existing examples. Our Guidelines also take into consideration the health and safety of our residents and visitors to Yarra, as well as supporting local biodiversity.

We now want you to review these Guidelines and let us know if we’ve missed anything or whether more detailed information is needed to guide you on planting your own street garden.

Have your say

Tell us what you think by filling in the online survey below before 9am on Monday 18 December 2023.