Creating the Agincourt Rd Boulevard Garden

In 2023, By-law No. 2003-498 was changed in the City of Ottawa to allow gardeners to plant on their Right Of Way. The Right Of Way (R.O.W.) consists of approximately the first 5 feet of a home owner’s property, which sometimes presents itself as the strip of grass between the road and the sidewalk. The bylaw includes stipulations for the safety of pedestrians and to protect snow-clearing machinery. Some of these restrictions were that plants could not be taller than 1m (39 inches) in height, there could be no shrubs or trees, and only hand-digging was permitted. 

We wanted to build a boulevard garden as soon as these bylaw changes were announced, but none of our own houses would accommodate one. Andrea discussed our dilemma with two of her neighbours across the street. Once they learned about MAPP and our mission, they kindly volunteered their Right Of Ways. The two gardens together were about 120 feet long, and they were each about 6 feet wide.

The first step to building a successful garden was to create a list of plants we thought would grow well there. This boulevard is in full sun, with no trees to provide shade. The plants needed to be short, hardy, drought tolerant, and salt tolerant. We consulted many online resources, including Blooming Boulevard’s Plant List, In Our Nature’s Boulevard List, Native Plant Nursery’s Salt Tolerant List and came up with a shortlist of 15 species. Using experience gained from her Horticultural program, Karina drew up a planting design for the boulevard which was presented to the home-owners for approval.

During the fall of 2023 we prepared the site for planting the following spring. We collected fallen leaves from the community and placed them in a thick layer along the R.O.W. in order to boost the quality of the soil beneath. The leaves will decay over the next few seasons, providing nutrients to the garden. On top of these leaves, we laid plain cardboard we collected at our local Costco. This cardboard would smother the grass in the spring, allowing for a clean canvas to plant. The final step was to place large tarps on top, keeping the leaves and cardboard in place. As this was our first time doing this, we later realized we had to remove these tarps to allow for snow removal. Regardless, the majority of the cardboard and leaves remained where they should be.

The following spring, we prepared for planting. We placed an order with Chip Drop, a service that helps individuals to receive free wood chips from arborists. While waiting for the Chip Drop to arrive, we began sourcing over 300 plants for the two gardens. We had grown many of them ourselves, but we also purchased some and received donations of others! In early June, our chip drop was delivered, and we sprang into action. It took several hours of hard work to spread the wood chips onto the boulevard.

The actual planting took multiple days. Karina placed plants in their designated spots, Harry used a large boring drill bit to create holes, and Andrea, Pam, and Grace planted and watered.

The final task was to install a small rope fence around the garden to protect it from foot traffic. Andrea’s husband made small posts from an old wooden palette, which were then painted white and placed around the perimeter of the garden. Thin white rope was hung from the posts by Andrea and Karina, and at long last the garden was completed.

The garden was watered throughout the summer to ensure the survival of the new plants (once the plants are established, they won’t need this). Over the next few months, the boulevard garden exploded. Tiny seedlings grew into small promising plants, larger plants began flowering, and pollinators arrived and found both food and habitat. We couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to what we hope will become a neighbourhood landmark. 

Update:

Now that it’s the summer of 2025, we can finally see the fruits of our labours – and were are blown away! The garden is doing beautifully. The plants are blooming, the pollinators are buzzing, and the neighbours love it!

We are so incredibly happy with how this garden turned out, and we look forward to seeing it mature over the years.