Street Gardening With Parking Strips

Thanks to recent changes in City of Tacoma policy, you don't even need a permit to plant a garden in your parking strip anymore, which significantly reduces the red-tape headaches you might've gotten in the past. All the city requires is that your garden is contained in a raised bed, and that it allows enough room for cars and pedestrians to pass by unimpeded.

Detailed information on how to set up your garden according to city standards can be found at tacomapermits.org, but here are the main things to keep in mind: the raised bed can be no higher than two feet, and you must allow two feet of space separating the garden from all curbs and sidewalks. If you're planting more than one garden, they must be kept at least three feet away from each other, to allow a path between the sidewalk and street. In essence, you've just got to be conscientious of your fellow Tacoman.

Once you've built your gardening area according to the city's specifications, all that's left to do is prepare it like you would any garden: spread soil, mulch, a border of wood chips, and whatever else you think would best result in a thriving home for vegetation. From there, any and all flowers or delicious produce you choose are yours to cultivate in the middle of the city! A nifty solution to a modern problem, urban gardens enrich and elevate every environment they're in. Parking strips are there for the planting.