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doriswk

planting ground cover on city property / bylaws?

doriswk
14 years ago

Hi all, I am new to this forum and already have a question. Instead of grass, we are trying to plant some groundcover on the stretch of property in front of our house, between the road and the walkway. We are responsible for its maintenance, but its considered city property.

1) We would like to know what is the bylaw in Toronto concerning this? I see grass all around us, but we don't want to take care of grass anymore. Does anyone on this forum know the bylaws, or can someone tell me who I would need to contact?

2) Without knowing question one, we already tried to plant creeping thyme, twice, from seed, and failed miserably. The manufacturer said it is tricky to grow and refunded part of the money. They also said it is now too late to try anything else in terms of other seeds, except planting established plants. We put several dark green moss plants there ( from far away they look like grass...), but it will be years before they spread. Meanwhile the rest is dirt, not nice. I do have a whole lot of rapidly spreading creeping sedum, the yellow blooming kind, in the rock garden right in front of the house. I could move it to the stretch along the road, but this would then look more like a garden area, and not like a lawn area. What to do? Any advice?

Thanks in advance

Comment (1)

  • ninamarie
    14 years ago

    Stay with the creeping thyme idea, but buy a plant or several plants instead of seed. Plant them in spring and then continue dividing them all summer. With a little bit of maintenance, ground preparation and a lot of dividing, you should be able to cover the area at a very reasonable cost. This is what a friend of ours did with a tiny piece from our garden. His project was the same as yours, but in a different town.
    I cannot speak to the by-laws in Toronto. But I would always plant first and ask afterwards. There is a guerilla gardening movement in Toronto and they would be the best people to ask about this. Otherwise, you'll be ensnared in red tape for months to come all for the sake of a piece of thyme.

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