Nundah Verge Visit Saturday 13/9/25

On Saturday we gathered for a verge visit on a corner block at Nundah. Kathy is just starting her verge journey. Here are some of the things we talked about.

The first thing we looked at was how the verge works for pedestrians. It is a corner block with a concrete path sloping downhill on both approaches and a ramp for pedestrians crossing at the corner. The safety and comfort of pedestrians walking through and crossing the road into this verge is a top priority. As is the safety of the gardener when they are working close to the road.

Keeping access clear using only low-growing plants near paths is essential. We also looked at where cars would park and how passengers need to be able to open their doors and walk to the path. They would walk across the garden beside the tree so laying a light mulch path between a gap in plants would cater for that. The slope means that care is needed to ensure mulch can’t be washed into the gutter and stormwater system.

Kathy started on the corner patch after it was left bare when a Jacaranda tree fell down, and has now moved on to the easier parts against the fence and around the trees. It’s a mix of plants at the moment but Kathy’s moving more towards using local native plants. Paten Park Nursery at The Gap and Kumbartcho Nursery at Eatons Hill are our sources of local native plants. It’s also worth checking the Brisbane Weeds site when people give you plants or you are shopping at commercial nurseries.

Keeping the grass intact while you establish the smaller and easier beds first is a good strategy. It means Kathy doesn’t have to rush to get beds finished before weeds move in, and she has time to get to know which plants work well for that site.

The concrete paths provide edges for the garden bed but the slope on the internal beds means that soil and mulch can easily wash onto the path. Dianellas and groundcovers can help keep the soil in place on the garden beds. Dianella is preferable to lomandra as the leaves are softer and it doesn't have spiky flowers.

Kathy was looking for suggestions for this spot which has recently been cleared. The property boundary continues in a straight line from the other fence, so this is a mix of private and public space. This bed is beside a main entrance to the house so it needs to be a bit special.

We thought a couple of Crinum pedunculatum (Swamp or River Lily) towards the back, with some Orthosiphon aristatus (Cat’s Whiskers) around them and groundcovers below would look spectacular.

Tree Roots

Kathy has cleared grass from around the base of the street tree and put in some dichondra repens, which is an excellent native groundcover and will spread to cover a wider area. This is much better for the tree and takes away the problem of trying to mow near tree roots. Using small tubestock means that you don’t disturb the roots. Minimal mulch should be placed around trees and over their roots. A living mulch of groundcovers and leaf litter is ideal.

How fitting are the names? Jenny Peat beside Lyndal Plant talking about trees.

We were joined by Lyndal Plant, Chair of TREENET, who spoke about the importance of increasing tree canopy and street trees to help reduce urban heat, and how native verge gardens can help with this.

There was a lot of discussion about the many reasons native plants for pollinators (especially our native bees) rather than exotic species and food growing was a better use for this space.

Kathy has made a great start on this garden and we look forward to seeing how it evolves. Thank you Kathy for letting us visit the verge, and thank you to everyone else who came along and contributed to the conversation.

There was so much more. What did we miss? Please add in the comments below.

The next verge visit will be on Saturday, 4th October at Nudgee - details and RSVP here.

If you’d like to talk to ACF group members about the group’s verge garden project, or to Gayle about The Shady Lanes Project, we’ll be at the Wendon Way Bushcare Anniversary Celebration this Sunday 21 September.

Read more

• Plants on my Brisbane nature strip includes photos and links for the plants mentioned above.

• Brisbane City Council verge garden guidelines

• Understanding the Space a series of short articles on the complexity of this space.