What Is a Street Garden?
Street gardens are usually found in the more historic parts of cities and small towns where residential properties were developed in the 19th and early 20th century. These districts often have small lots and small Victorian or regionally significant architecture. Buildings were generally pushed close to the street.

The origins of street gardens are a direct descendent of the English cottage garden design tradition that came out of the development residential gardens planted by common people who lived in rustic cottages in the English countryside.

At the same time that landscape gardeners such as Humphrey Repton, Capability Brown and John Claudius Loudon were developing the picturesque great estates and gardenesque town landscapes, working folks added to the history of garden design.

These traditions can be seen today in the street gardens of historic districts, traditional neighborhood developments (TND) and compact new urbanism communities such as Seaside, Florida that feature small gardens.

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Street gardens, like this one in Seaside, Fla., are opportunities for landscape architects to promote their special skills and market their professional practices.
Photo: Prof. Buck Abbey, ASLA

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Street Garden Design
Street gardens may be designed by professional landscape architects and horticulturist, but more often are designed by homeowners who want a front yard garden that complements their home, adorns views from the front porch and living room and adds color, texture, fragrance, butterflies and hummingbirds. Street gardens are very inexpensive and easy to maintain.

Street gardens are generally fenced, gated, planted with flowers, herbs, edible fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices.

Many contain fountains, wind chimes, garden art, birdhouses, ceramic sculptures, gazing globes and birdbaths. Arbors, trellises, decks, gazebos and small terraces often supply shady places to sit and sip ice tea. The American flag wafts easily from a wooden column supporting a covered porch to complement the scene on Flag Day and the Fourth of July.

Starting a Street Garden Program
Landscape architecture firms should provide leadership for this street improvement and educational program as a pro bono public service and professional marketing method. They have the means to organize others who make the program work.

Property owners and local gardeners are the primary activity participants. Friends, neighbors, out of town visitors, tourist and school children are the primary benefactors of this program. Neighborhood residents get to walk, view, socialize and learn about nature on the streets of the community during several seasons of the year.

Owners of property are asked to register for this annual competition each spring. During summer as gardens start to bloom, open houses (gardens) are held, seminars are offered and neighbors are coaxed into planting a garden of their own. A walking garden tour guide is produced showing all of the registered street gardens.

A midsummer plant sale and pass-along plant exchange is hosted at city hall or a public park around the 4th of July. In late summer judging of the gardens takes place.

Registered participants will be summoned to city hall in October for the awarding of prizes and for a special review of the top ten garden designs. Of these one will be awarded the Grand Champion Prize (Le champion des jardins de ville) and be recognized. The property owner will be given appropriate honor, and the landscape architecture firm making this happen will certainly receive their share of public acclaim.

Private landscape projects such as street gardens, like public landscape codes, help to green the city and build a better community. This program will recognize landscape architecture and garden design.

See Carmel-By-The-Sea design guidelines at http://ci.carmel.ca.us/carmel/index.cfm/government/staff-departments/community-planning-and-building/design-guidelines/.