Verge Garden Visit at Banyo: March 2025
As part of our monthly verge garden visits, we went to the verge garden where many of our group took part in the working bees and the Banyo Verge Garden Project in 2023.
Some of our group members will remember this working bee at Banyo two years ago. It was part of the Banyo Verge Garden Pilot Project where ACF Community Brisbane Northside helped host and organise many of the events, along with Kira, and the two local champions, Kerry and Kylie.
On Saturday, we returned for a casual verge visit. It was great to talk to Kylie about how the garden has developed and how our early discipline of working within council guidelines with predominantly native plants paid off.
Here’s what it looks like now:
There is no pavement on this street. Note the grass path for pedestrians on the left and the narrow grass strip against the kerb to allow passengers to get out of cars. There’s no loose mulch to go into the drain on the bottom right.
To avoid damaging the roots of the existing street trees, we used hand tools to remove grass gently and planted small native tubestock obtained from community nurseries. Some mulch was used at the beginning but now the garden creates its own mulch.
The two adjoining verge gardens and trees from across the road. The plants are all low-growing which keeps sightlines clear and is more comfortable for pedestrians.
Note that shade over the verge and the road. Shade is so important in our hot summers. Again you can see the space allowed for passengers from parked cars, and the clear drain.
A closer view. In keeping with council guidelines there is no edging or rocks in this garden. The banner is from the original project. When the original funding finished, the Banyo District Community Group Inc (BDCG) stepped in and adopted the project. Kylie is on the committee.
As part of our network, the Banyo verge group will be included in our stall at the Sustainable BNE Festival in May, and we will have a stall at the BDCG Queensland Day event in June.
Hibbertia scandens doing well amid the Westringia. It makes a good groundcover plant with attractive yellow flowers and clusters of red fruit. It’s a good plant for bees, butterflies, and lizards.
The dianella clumps have thickened out. Kylie tells us that we’ve missed all the birds coming for the purple berries. Dianella is a good plant for verge gardens as it is much softer than Lomandra.
What’s Next?
Our next verge visit is at Carseldine on 5th April. Details and RSVP here
If you are in the Banyo and Nudgee area, connect with the Banyo Verge Garden Facebook page
Great to see Kylie's verg garden doing so well, all plants looking very healthy