Rehabbing the Hell Strip

One of the most difficult areas to cultivate turf, let alone plants, is an area that is affectionately known as the Hell Strip. It is the area between the street and the sidewalk. Ranging in width from a foot to almost 5 feet, these areas are rarely irrigated, tend to struggle from car exhaust, ice melting products and plain old neglect.

A trend that has been growing in popularity is to not grow turf in these areas but planting them with drought tolerant natives and cultivated strains of natives. While “nativars” are typically frowned upon from native plant advocates, I have found some of them to be useful in certain situations, as they boast good disease resistance, and are still valuable pollen sources for our bee and butterfly populations.

How to get started?

To get started, you’ll want to check with your HOA, or neighborhood association to see if it’s allowed in your area. As I live in a progressive part of KC, I decided to give this a try. I first treated the area with Botanical Kleen-Up, an organic weed and grass killer to knock down the weeds and grass in the area. After a few days, everything was dead and ready for removal. Using a turfing rake, I removed the turf and the top few inches of soil. I amended the soil with cotton-burr compost and headed to the greenhouse to make my plant selections.

What to plant?

As a country boy I have a soft spot in my heart for native plants and try to find native selections whenever possible. As I walked to the greenhouse, I was thinking about how to get the most out of my selections. I wanted to have a good mix of colors over as long as possible throughout the growing season, be drought tolerant once established, pollinator friendly and of course, native to Missouri. After a little deliberation, I decided to plant the following-

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed)- beautiful orange blossoms and a magnet for monarch, viceroy and fritillaria butterflies. Will bloom twice if dead-headed 2ftx2ft

Liatris pycnostachya (Prairie Blazing Star) - Bright pink-purple bottlebrush bloom spikes in mid-summer, this beauty attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds 3ftx2ft

Oenothera marcrocarpa (Missouri Evening Primrose) -  Beautiful yellow buttercup-like blooms in May, loved by Sphinx moths 1ftx2ft

Glandularia canadensis (Rose Verbena) - lovely pink blooms off and on through the summer if dead headed. Numerous species of bees and butterflies flock to this little beauty! 1ftx2ft

Baptisia australis (False Blue Indigo) - Beautiful blue blooms in Mid-Late Spring, often visited by many bee species 3ftx3ft.

While there are many different species of natives that would be acceptable, I chose these for their rather tidy appearance, extended blooming season, drought tolerance and pollinator friendly characteristics. I of course treated the entire area with Bio-Life 800 to reduce transplant shock and help with soil biodiversity.

In closing

After the last plant went in, the mulch laid and watered in, I scratched my head in wonder why I did not do this project sooner. I’m looking forward to watching this new planting area grow, and watch the pollinators come to feast. If you are interested in getting this project done at your home, come to Colonial Gardens, and let us help you create a new planting that is easy to care for, beautiful, and loved by many beneficial insect species!