The Sidewalk Garden borders the sidewalk on the north side
of the Dane County Extension office building, along Fen Oak Drive.
The garden offers “curb appeal” to both pedestrians and drivers. Sidewalk gardens, like boulevard gardens,
tend to be tough sites known for dry soil and salt from the winter. Plants in this garden were selected based on
their ability to live and flourish in difficult urban sites that often occur
near sidewalks. Salt tolerant species in
the Sidewalk Garden, that are also drought tolerant, include: Achillea
millefolium (yarrow), Baptisia
(false indigo), Berberis thunbergii (barberry), Calamagrostis x acutiflora
(‘Karl Foerster’ European Feather Reed Grass), Eryngium (sea holly), Hemerocallis
(daylily), Iris germanica, leucanthemum x superbum (shasta daisy), Quercus
(oak), Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac), Rudbeckia fulgida (black-eyed susan), Salvia
(sage), Sedum, Veronica (speedwell),
etc.
To join the Sidewalk Garden team, contact Karen Allenstein. 2024 team members include:
Sidewalk Garden Team
Team members learn about perennials and woody plants that are both salt and/or drought tolerant. Other learning opportunities include:
- plant division and transplanting (timing and techniques)
- pruning techniques (numerous specimen trees in the garden)
- weed control (mulching and dealing with Canadian thistle)
- diagnosing and managing insect and disease problems
Over the past two year, the Sidewalk Team has worked on planting more ground covers to reduce the requirements for mulching and watering in the garden. Many of the ground covers selected tolerate dry shade once established.
Mary Davidson, 3rd year
Briana Moritz, 2nd year
Lalitha Ramamoorthy, 2nd year
Barbara Strand, 4th year
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