Residential boulevard gardens

Property owners and tenants may plant and maintain a garden in the boulevard abutting their residential property. Figure 1 illustrates a naturalized garden. This activity may be done without a permit and without contacting the City, however, regulations in the Use and Care of Roads By-law (By-law No. 2003-498) must be followed.

Boulevard gardens offer many benefits, including:

• Building community awareness and support for naturalization
• Attracting and supporting pollinators while increasing biodiversity
• Increasing drought and soil erosion resistance
• Reducing heat-island effects
• Reducing fertilizer and pesticide usage
• Improving on-site stormwater retention
• Conserving water
• Promoting climate change resiliency
• Fewer emissions produced from gasoline engines (mowing)
• Promoting mental and physical health benefits

Figure 1

Questions or concerns about residential boulevard gardens can be directed to 3-1-1.

Identify the boulevard and assess suitability

The boulevard varies in size across the city. In some areas the boulevard extends a considerable amount towards a residential property. In others, where there is a sidewalk, the boulevard may be on one or both sides of the sidewalk up to the property line.

The City’s geoOttawa tool is helpful to determine the location and size of the boulevard abutting your property. Figure 1 is an example of the boulevard in a suburban neighbourhood. Learn more about locating property boundaries using geoOttawa if you are unfamiliar with the platform.

Figure 1

The residential boulevard also varies in context. In addition to the size of the boulevard, the amount and location of infrastructure, stormwater management, traffic and pedestrian volume all vary by neighbourhood and even by street. The street is a public space where you have little control over the way people and pets interact with your garden. A certain level of quality and contaminant control is lost when you garden in the boulevard. For more information on ways contaminants impact gardens and plants, visit Ottawa Public Health’s Gardening and Growing Food webpage.

It is up to each resident to judge the suitability of their location and capacity to maintain a garden before starting a boulevard gardening project, especially if considering growing food. Refer to the responsibilities, risks and considerations for growing food for more information.

The suitability of a space can also change over time. Registration of a boulevard garden is not required, and a resident may choose to plant a garden when they see fit provided the by-law requirements are met. Should a property owner no longer wish to maintain a boulevard garden, they may remove it and reinstate the boulevard with turf grass or suitable herbaceous ground cover at their own cost.

Locate utilities before you dig – Ontario OneCall

Only hand-digging is permitted within the boulevard. Utility locates, in accordance with Provincial law, must be obtained whenever any digging, by any means, occurs by contacting Ontario OneCall.

Decide what to plant

• You cannot plant a tree within the City-owned boulevard per the Tree Protection By-law (By-law 2020-340). Refer to the City’s Trees in Trust program if you wish to have a tree planted by the City.
• Do not plant any noxious weeds or invasive species prohibited in the right of way
• Prioritize Eastern Ontario native plants
• Read the considerations for growing food in boulevard gardens before planting
• Consider companion plants as a natural pest deterrent to food-producing plants
• Consider salt-tolerant plants if planting next to sidewalks and roadways
• Research the mature growing height of plants

• No plants (including the raised garden bed or container height) are permitted to exceed a maximum height of 1.0 metre.
• No plants (including the raised garden bed or container height) are permitted to exceed a maximum height of 0.75 metres within the corner lot visibility triangle as identified in Figure 3.

Figure 3

• Plants cannot create a sightline or safety hazard. If you are unsure of the growth height of your selected plants, ensure they are planted towards the interior of the boulevard where they can be appropriately maintained.
• Consider how you will water your garden. Note that food-producing plants typically demand more water and maintenance. You are not permitted to install an irrigation system in the boulevard and hoses can cause hazards, such as tripping and falling, for sidewalk users.  If you are growing food, water plants using drinkable water. For other plants, use water that is known to be clean.

Including raised garden beds and containers

Raised garden beds

• A raised garden bed is a straight-walled box or border that is uniform in construction
• Made of wood or other suitable material for holding soil for vegetative plantings such as galvanized steel or composite. It is recommended to use untreated wood, especially if growing food. Treated lumber and creosoted timber (e.g., railway ties) can contain contaminants that leach into soil and groundwater and be taken up by plants.
• Cannot be made of concrete, stone, rock, brick or pavers
• Constructed to a maximum height of 45 centimetres
• There are location requirements that must be followed. Review the exclusion areas for more details.

Containers

• Soil-separated vessel designed for the purpose of growing vegetative plantings (for example, old steel drums and tires are not suitable containers for use in a boulevard garden)
• Must be readily moveable (seasonal removal is required)
• There are location requirements that must be followed. Review the exclusion areas for more details.

Including plant supports

Plant support devices can be a useful tool for the healthy growth of plants and to prevent plants from spilling into unwanted areas. Temporary plant supports, such as a bean pole or tomato cage, are permitted in a boulevard garden if they are no larger than 1.0 metre in height and do not pose a safety hazard to pedestrians or animals. Large architectural trellises and arbors are not permitted in a boulevard garden.

Locate City trees, ditches and infrastructure

After determining the size of the boulevard abutting your property, locate any City trees and all at grade and aboveground infrastructure such as a catch basin (Figure 1), water valve (Figure 2), fire hydrant, utility boxes (Figure 3) and hydro poles to determine the required exclusion areas from those assets. A ditch is an excavated channel in the ground that conveys water during storm events and spring melts. Ditch maintenance is a shared responsibility between property owners and the City.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Exclusion areas

No boulevard garden, including a raised garden bed or moveable container, is permitted within:

• The front or back slope of a ditch, or within the ditch itself
• 1.5 metres of a catch basin or manhole
• 1.0 metre of a City tree as measured from the trunk as shown in Figure 4.
• 1.5 metre radius of a fire hydrant, as well as within a three (3.0) metre wide corridor from the fire hydrant to the roadway as shown in Figure 5.
• 1.5 metres at the back or sides of a hydro transformer box, and 3 metres from the front as shown in Figure 6.
• 1.0 metre for above ground or grade level infrastructure owned by the City or by a person authorized to have infrastructure in the right of way (for example, gas and telecommunication pedestals, grade level boxes, hydro poles, guide wires, City signage, and Canada Post mailboxes) as shown in Figure 7.
• The area within an OC Transpo bus stop as shown in Figure 8, being 25 metres of the ingress side of a bus stop flag or 5 metres from the edge of a concrete bus stop pad, whichever is further from the bus stop flag; and 5 metres of the egress side of a bus stop flag; and that area measuring 20 metres in length and 3 metres in width along the rear side of a bus stop, measured from the bus stop flag towards the ingress side of the stop.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Raised garden beds

No raised garden bed is permitted within:

• the boulevard between the sidewalk and roadway as shown in Figure 9
• 0.6 metres from the sidewalk in the boulevard between the sidewalk and the property line as shown in Figure 9
• 1.5 metres from the roadway in a boulevard with no sidewalk as shown in Figure 10

Figure 9

Figure 10

Moveable containers

No moveable container is permitted within:

• 0.5 metres from the roadway, as shown in Figure 11, on a road classified as local or collector with a speed limit of 40 km/h or less
• 1.5 metres from the roadway, as shown in Figure 12, in a boulevard with no sidewalk on a road classified as a major collector or higher or on a road classified as local or collector where the speed limit is greater than 40 km/h
• the boulevard between the sidewalk and roadway, as shown in Figure 13, on a road classified as a major collector or higher or on a road classified as local or collector where the speed limit is greater than 40 km/h

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Safe gardening

• Keep sidewalks clear. Do not leave hoses or gardening tools in places that could create a tripping or falling hazard. Make sure plants do not obstruct sidewalks to prevent tripping and falling hazards.
• Garden during daylight hours, wear high visibility clothing and make sure children are closely supervised if gardening near the roadway.
• Garden during daylight hours, wear high visibility clothing and make sure children are closely supervised if gardening near the roadway.
• Potted plants can be quite heavy. Use care when lifting or moving containers or gardening equipment.
• Chemical pesticides, rodenticides, herbicides and fertilizers can pose risks to human health and the environment. Consider natural alternatives for weed and insect control.
• Homeowners and tenants that receive an annual letter from the City of Ottawa because their property may be contaminants of health concern in the soil should follow the suggested precautions to avoid unnecessary exposure.
• Additional tips for reducing risk of injury while gardening can be found on Ottawa Public Health’s Gardening and Growing Food webpage.

Considerations for growing food

Related risks

Some locations may not be appropriate for growing food you plan to eat. Given the proximity to the publicly travelled roadway or sidewalk, people and their pets may interact with a boulevard garden. This presents some risks, including people picking and eating produce they have not been responsible for growing, gardens being disturbed by people exiting parked vehicles or by pets, urine and fecal contamination from pets or other animals, and neighbour disputes. Produce may attract animals, including rodents, birds and other pests which can increase the risk of fecal contamination and nuisances.

The City cannot guarantee the suitability of the boulevard for food production. Soil can sometimes be contaminated. Contamination is unwanted pollution of something by another substance such as germs, chemicals, or heavy metals. Soil can be contaminated from former land uses or by the introduction of new contaminants from vehicle-associated road run-off, salt used in winter operations or other sources. Soil and plants can also become contaminated by airborne contaminants, such as soil dust or soil back-splash when it rains or when you water.

How to mitigate the risks

Before deciding to plant, assess the location where you plan to garden and grow food for any site characteristics that may impact the garden.

Only grow food in soil that is known to be clean and free of contaminants.

• If you plan to grow food directly in the existing soil, you should have the soil tested. Soil testing can be arranged through private analytical testing laboratories.
• If you don’t know the soil quality and don’t plan to have it tested, you should limit growing food to raised garden beds and/or containers filled with clean soil mix.

Raised garden beds constructed of wood should only be built using untreated lumber. Treated lumber and creosoted timber (e.g., railway ties) can contain contaminants that leach into soil and groundwater and be taken up by plants. You should also place landscape fabric on the ground before you construct your raised garden bed. This will act as a barrier to stop clean soil mixing with the soil below and prevent plant roots from contacting the soil beneath the raised garden bed.

Containers can also be used to grow food. Containers must be constructed of a material that is appropriate for gardening and growing food (if applicable).

If you are growing food, water plants using drinkable water. For other plants, use water that is clean. Collected rainwater being used to water plants should be stored in a clean container and it should not be contaminated by roof materials, animal droppings, or other pollutants.

Consider what you plant:

• Choose plants that produce vegetable fruits (e.g., tomatoes, squash, beans) and berries as they take up less soil contaminants into their edible parts than do herbs, leafy vegetables or root vegetables.
• Root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes should not be grown in contaminated soil or soil of unknown quality. Avoid planting herbs or leafy vegetables as the edible part of these plants are in closer contact with soil contaminants.
• Leafy plants might be harder to rinse clean of dust and soil compared to other plants so they should be washed carefully.
• Cooking produce reduces the risk of pathogens, which are germs that can cause infections, but does not remove contaminants, such as chemicals or heavy metals.

Be aware of ways food grown in your garden can be contaminated and don't consume it unless you are sure if it is safe to eat.

Harvest food as appropriate to not attract pests and wildlife. If you are concerned growing food in your garden will attract rats, refer to the Ottawa Public Health Rat Control webpage.

Garden maintenance and winter operations

• Sidewalks and roadways must remain clear and unobstructed at all times.
• To help ensure gardens do not create safety issues such as sightline obstructions there are regulated height limits for boulevard gardens. Consider visibility and plant height restrictions when deciding what to plant in a boulevard garden.
• Raised garden beds and moveable containers must be kept in a state of good repair, without any projections or attachments that could create a safety hazard to pedestrians, animals or vehicular traffic.
• In the winter, the boulevard plays an important role in snow storage. Following heavy snowfalls, snowbanks may need to be removed, including on residential streets. Damage to boulevard gardens may occur due to winter operations. The City is not liable for any damage caused to a boulevard garden.
• During the winter, salt and other abrasive materials (grit) are applied to sidewalks and streets, which can impact soil quality for plants close to these areas.
• All moveable containers must be removed from the boulevard as of November 15 each year. It is recommended that they not be placed back on the boulevard until April 15.
• All plant supports must be removed from the boulevard as of November 15 each year. It is recommended that they not be placed back on the boulevard until April 15.

Access requirements

The right of way, which includes the boulevard, is City-owned property and shared across multiple users. The right of way is subject to ongoing maintenance, utility and capital works, as well as other activities. Boulevard gardens, including any raised garden beds and moveable containers, must not encumber or impede anyone authorized to do work in the boulevard.

If you receive notice of planned work within the right of way that may impact your garden, please plan and temporarily re-home plants in advance of the work taking place. Use the contact information provided to discuss with the utility company or City an option to re-instate the boulevard with topsoil only, for you to re-plant after work is complete. A reminder that garden removal and replanting must be done by yourself; utility companies or the City will not protect, repair, replace, or re-instate a resident’s boulevard garden.

Liability and indemnity

You may only install a residential garden within the boulevard directly abutting your own property. If you wish to do so in front of another residential property, you must obtain written consent provided by the abutting property owner. The abutting owner will remain responsible for maintenance, modification, or removal if required.

The City reserves the right to intervene and request modification or removal of a residential boulevard garden, if, for example, an operational, safety, or drainage issue is present, or the garden does not comply with the by-law regulations.

In accordance with the Use and Care of Roads By-law (By-law No. 2003-498), by installing a boulevard garden, you agree to indemnify and save harmless the City from any and all claims, demands, causes of action, loss, costs or damages that the City may suffer, incur or be liable for resulting from your installation or maintenance of the boulevard garden. You also agree that you shall have no claim for loss, costs, or damages caused or sustained against the City, its employees, agents or any person acting on its behalf, or any person authorized to occupy or work within a Highway by reason of damage or removal of the boulevard garden.

Ensure you are familiar with the provisions of the Use and Care of Roads By-law (By-law No. 2003-498) prior to constructing your boulevard garden.