Garden On The Verge: A New Approach

Garden On The Verge: A New Approach shows how resident-planted native verge gardens can become one of the fastest, cheapest, and most achievable ways to increase urban shade and biodiversity—while supporting council street trees. Drawing on practical experience and wide research, Gayle Dallaston shares a new collaborative framework that helps councils and residents work together successfully. Starting with her own verge garden in 2017, Gayle explores what works, what doesn’t, why people give up, why disputes arise, and why some never begin. Readers learn how to navigate the differing perspectives of neighbours, councils, and other users of shared space, build productive relationships, and create verge gardens that serve as living examples of nature-based solutions to urban heat and climate change. Clear, practical, and empowering, this book helps readers avoid common pitfalls and gain the confidence to start—and sustain—local action that benefits communities, street trees, and biodiversity alike.