This article originally appeared on Houzz.com

Walk down the street in any Seattle neighborhood these days, and you may be more likely to see Swiss chard or lettuce growing in parking strips than grass. “All over Seattle, vegetable gardens in parking strips are popular,” landscape designer Erin Lau says. That narrow strip of land between the sidewalk and the street, often called the hell strip due to its notoriously inhospitable growing conditions, has become a favorite spot for gardeners wanting to farm their yards.

Tom Richardson already was growing edibles in his Seattle garden when he turned his attention to a 10- by 100-foot parking strip in front of his house. Other neighbors on his street had started farming their parking strips already, and he hired Lau to transform his massive plot from hell strip to edible heaven. Though hours of direct sun and nutrient-deficient soil plague many parking strips, raised beds help this one succeed.

Project at a Glance
What: Raised vegetable beds and pollinator beds in a public parking strip
Location: Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle
Size: 1,000 square feet (93 square meters)

Seattle regulations state that raised beds need to be at least 3 feet away from the street, at least 1 foot away from the sidewalk and at least 3 feet away from one other to allow pedestrian access. They also need to be less than 18 inches tall. Though permitting is required for hardscape elements like these, the city welcomes them. Check with your own municipality before starting a similar project.

Garden Features
Juniper raised beds. The Richardsons live across the street from a popular park and wanted to embrace the heavy foot traffic in the design of their garden, starting with the juniper raised beds. Lau built the beds at sitting height and made the tops extra wide so they can be used as seats. Four of the beds are 4 feet by 8 feet, and two of them are 4 feet by 6 feet. The 4-by-4 timbers they used here are live edge and have a rustic feel. 

Cedar is a popular material for raised beds in the Seattle area, says Lau, but it’s expensive. “We happened to use juniper timbers for the wood of the beds because it is rot resistant, bug resistant and affordable,” she says, adding that it’s about half the cost of cedar. Unfortunately juniper is not always as readily available as cedar, so it’s good to check your local lumber supply beforehand.

Lau suggests building your beds as tall as possible, both to prevent trampling and to avoid neighborhood dogs’ marking their territory on your crops.

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