Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I sponsor a Green Streets garden?
• What are my responsibilities as a Green Street gardener?
• Can I grow vegetables in my street garden?
• Does the City give me new plants for my street garden?
• Does the City provide compost or topsoil for my street garden?
• Are boulevard gardens a part of the Green Street Program?
• How do I water my plants if I do not live next to the garden?
• Can corner bulges that are turf become a Green Streets garden?
• A new street garden has been built in my neighbourhood but it has not yet been planted. I would like to sponsor it. What are my options?

How do I sponsor a Green Streets garden?

1. Find a garden that you would like to care for. Available gardens are identified with a green sign. Look for one in your neighbourhood or contact us to see what’s available near you.
2. Familiarize yourself with the Green Streets Gardening Guidelines.
3. Submit a Green Streets Application. We will contact you once we receive your application to finalize the process. The form is available online or at our office. Phone 604.873.7204 to have one sent to you.

What are my responsibilities as a Green Streets gardener?

By sponsoring a traffic circle or corner bulge garden, you agree to work with the City and your community to help the garden grow during the year. Keeping the garden weeded and watered is your main responsibility although many street gardeners choose to add some of their own plants for additional colour and interest. Gardeners also agree to the gardening guidelines to ensure the garden is safe and hazard-free.

Your own safety is a critical consideration. Gardening in or near the street requires a level of safety awareness not encountered in your home garden. It is important to make yourself visible to traffic at all times.

Can I grow vegetables in my street garden?

The Green Streets Program does not encourage gardeners to grow vegetables in their street gardens for a number of reasons. Street gardens are subject to contaminants from the roadway and from passers-by and therefore, their suitability for food growing cannot be guaranteed. Additionally, the Green Streets Program encourages residents to beutify their neighbourhoods. However, most food-producing plants are annuals that die back in the winter leaving an empty garden for several months of the year.

The hot, dry conditions in a street garden may not be conducive to food growing. The City has a number of community gardens where vegetables can be grown. Find out about Community Gardens in Vancouver.

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Does the City give me new plants for my street garden?

All new traffic circle and landscaped corner bulges are planted by the City when they are installed using drought-tolerant plants with year-round interest. Once the initial planting has been done, the landscaping budget has been spent and there is no further money for additional plants.

When you take on a street garden, it's preferred that the existing plants remain unless they are replaced by plant material that will provide similar year-round interest and that meets the Green Streets height guidelines. Gardeners are welcome to add their own plants, creating a personal touch and adding colour and interest to the garden.

Occasionally the Green Streets Program receives donations of bulbs or plants. As a Green Streets gardener, you will be notified of any give-aways. Additionally, there are two opportunities to plant-swap with fellow street gardeners during the year.

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Does the City provide compost or topsoil for my street garden?

Twice a year, compost is delivered to several central community locations around Vancouver. Gardeners are invited to bring buckets and shovels to take what they need for their street garden free of charge. Gardeners receive a notification of the time and location and can pick it up at their own convenience.

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Are boulevard gardens a part of the Green Street Program?

No, boulevard gardens are not part of the Green Streets Program, but they are allowed within certain guidelines.

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How do I water my plants if I do not live next to the garden?

Watering the garden when you don’t live within hose-length of your garden can be challenging. Some gardeners carry buckets and watering cans from their homes. Others approach a neighbour on the corner and ask to use their water - after all, the entire neighbourhood benefits from a beautiful street garden!

For the initial planting of a street garden, the City chooses plants that are tolerant of dry conditions, so once plants are established, summer rainfall may be all that is necessary. Choosing drought tolerant perennial plants rather than annuals to enhance your street garden reduces water requirements. A mulch of leaves or compost also helps reduce moisture loss due to evaporation. Water-wise gardening information is available through the GVRD (604.436.6899) or the City’s Water Conservation Program.

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Can corner bulges that are turf become a Green Streets Garden?

Sometimes, corner bulges are landscaped if they are a part of a greenway or a neighbourhood beautification project.  Most often they are turfed and become part of the boulevard.  Landscaped corner bulges have money set aside for plants and their maintenance at the time City Council approves their construction.  The maintenance funding ensures that the garden will be maintained by the City when there is no neighbourhood sponsor to care for it. Therefore, corner bulges that are turfed do not have money set aside for plants or for their maintenance.

Turfed corner bulges can become part of the Green Streets Program, but under slightly different circumstances than landscaped bulges. Residents are allowed to convert a turfed bulge into a garden at their own expense and labour. In this sense, they are similar to boulevard gardens, in that they are allowed within certain guidelines, but it is up to the individual sponsor to make it happen. If the sponsor is no longer able to maintain the garden and a new sponsor cannot be found, the bulge will be converted back to turf.

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A new street garden has been built in my neighbourhood but it has not yet been planted. I would like to sponsor it. What are my options?

Option 1
The City selects and installs the plants and you, as the garden sponsor, maintain and care for the garden throughout the year.
Option 2
The City selects and installs the plants but leaves space for you to add some of your own favourite plants. You maintain and care for the garden throughout the year.
Option 3
You work with a City landscape designer to help develop a planting plan for the traffic circle. The City installs the plants, leaving space for your own plants if you wish. You maintain and care for the garden throughout the year.

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