What you can do on your verge

Trees beautify, provide habitat for wildlife and cool our streets and suburbs reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect. Street Trees help to secure these benefits by increasing our urban tree canopy cover. The City’s aspirations are for a thriving urban forest, the Urban Forest Plan presents a clear pathway to achieving this.

If you would like your verge to help improve the liveability of our suburbs complete the request a street tree form.

Beautifying your street can be a team effort, creating a more liveable, safer and resilient community. Talk to your neighbours about a joint verge project. By upgrading the verge area on your street with your neighbours, you may be eligible for the City’s Sustainability Grants. Sharing the labour and the purchases reduces costs and enhance connection with your local community.

The City has several initiatives that will assist you in improving your verge.

Waterwise Verge Rebate – Waterwise Verge Rebate provides eligible applicants with financial support for Waterwise verge installations. Applicants have free access to professional verge designs, and these include a list of plant species. This rebate runs for a limited time to utilise seasonal rainfall. 

Native Plant Subsidy Scheme – provides residents with the opportunity to purchase subsidised native plants in May each year. 

Sustainability Grants – collective (2 or more) households can apply for funding for Waterwise verge improvement projects, up to $4,000

Grow Local Brochures – enables residents to select the right plants for their area and soil type.

Garden workshops – these provide advice on verge design, composting, food gardening, Waterwise plants and tips. 

Underneath the verge area contains the service utilities, telephone lines and electricity cables. Before beginning any excavation work, it is important to find the location of any below ground services. Verge treatments must not cover or obstruct access to these services.
 
Call ‘Dial before you Dig’, a free call on  1100 or visit Utility providers website to have the right to access, upgrade or repair services. Returning the verge to its former design may be the responsibility of the householder.

To create a safe and beautiful verge garden, the plant height restrictions and the designs shown in this document. Use plants that match your soil type and local climate conditions. Consider grouping and mass planting (hydrozoning) of similar species and water needs to reduce water use. Vegetable gardens can be planted, approval is needed for a raised planter bed.

If you would like lawn on your verge, the City recommends reducing the area. Lawn can need a lot of watering, select a drought-tolerant species to reduce garden water use. Mass plantings of low-growing ground covers can create a grass-like cover. There are native species that achieve this look.

Once planting is complete, apply for a course, large particle size, Waterwise mulch to the verge. Mulch will reduce evaporation, maintain soil temperature, reduce plant stress and help to suppress weed growth. Mulch this size will enhance water penetration into the soil. Mulch should be kept below kerb and footpaths height, at a depth of 5–10cm. Large and heavy mulch should be installed and maintained to not drift onto the footpath or road as it can cause a safety hazard.

The City recommends non-irrigated Waterwise verges. Water only on your allocated watering days as outlined by the Water Corporation. Check their website for full details.

Prior permission from the City, is required to pave an area more than 25% of your verge. Porous pavement and paving with gaps between pavers allow for water to percolate into the soil. This will keep the water on-site for your plants, rather than flowing off the paving away into the drainage system.

To apply for approval, please complete the form below:

Verge Landscaping Application Form

Due to safety concerns some verge treatments are not permitted. These images are local examples of noncompliant, unacceptable verge treatments. If verge treatments present a hazard, the City will request remedial works to correct the problem.

• Signs
• Fences
• Stakes and sharp items
• Barriers
• Variable message boards
• Loose materials 
• Inorganic meaterials

Any verge works outside the ‘Acceptable materials’ will require the lodgement of a Verge Landscape Application. 

Your design should include existing features such as street trees, crossovers, driveways, footpaths and other infrastructure. Approval will be subject to conditions that the City considers appropriate.  

Impermeable surfaces, paving and synthetic turf, are strongly discouraged by the City. Any proposal seeking approval for over 25% of these surfaces will need to detail water containment, heat mitigation treatments and any potential safety issues. It is encouraged to incorporate acceptable material treatments with any proposal.

To submit a plan, and seek approval please complete the online Verge Landscaping Application Form 

You need approval and justification for the following: 

• Art Structures 

• Impermeable surfaces, paving and hard treatments if more than 25% of the verge is paved

• Play equipment

• Raised garden beds and vegetable planters

• Street furniture 

• Street tree requests

• Synthetic turf.

Accessibility
Verges are shared zones used by other residents, including the elderly and disabled, postal deliveries and service utilities. Access by others should be considered when designing your verge. Changes to your verge should not obstruct access. 
Set-backs There needs to be a 1.5 meter clearance from the road kerb if no footpath has been installed. This clearance allows pedestrians safe refuge if they need to get off the road.

Sightlines
There should be a clear line of sight across the verge for vehicles entering and exiting the road network from a crossover (driveway) to the property. Planted areas should not create hazards for people, bicycles, prams, wheelchairs or vehicles. Especially pertinent in newer suburbs where the verge size is reduced. Figure 1 (page 5) shows plant heights that facilitate clear sight lines. All plants, mulch and tree branches that encroach on footpaths, roads and private property need to be trimmed on a regular basis. 

Plant height parameters
Maximum plant height of 600mm between 1.5–2.5m from the road kerb 
Maximum plant height of 800mm between 2.5–3.5m from the road kerb  
Maximum plant height of 1.2m in height beyond 3.5m from the road kerb.

Waste collection
Leave a clear space for easy access to your rubbish bins on collection day. This can be a paved (1m by 1m) or mulched area.                        

Designing
Plan out your verge garden on paper to get some perspective of where your plants are best located and what you can fit into the space. Plan for mature plant heights, to ensure sightlines are maintained. Professional verge designs are available free with the Waterwise Verge Rebate scheme.

A corner block provides a great opportunity for additional urban cooling trees. The garden feel can be maintained by continuing a hedge or planting into your front garden. The entire verge can also be planted where the footpath is located along the back of the kerb, Figure 2. This provides safe pedestrian access along the side. 

Truncation

Truncation areas, Figure 2, ensure safety by providing unobstructed sightlines at vehicle access points, such as corners and driveways. When planting your verge and inside your property, give consideration of sightlines for cars exiting driveways turning corners, ground covers only in these areas. Check the Cockburn Mapping Hub for your corner truncation boundaries. 

Corner block verge designs

Some clear space is required for your rubbish bins. This can be paved (1m by 1,) or mulched. Limit heights of plants to around 800mm and use mulch with your groundcovers.

A disconnected verge is one with restricted, limited or no access from private property. Usually when there is a height level difference from the front/side of the house down to the verge area. Paving here will exacerbate the Urban Heat Island Effect. The most effective verge treatment is Waterwise verge, with no grass; these require minimal water and maintenance. Applying large-sized mulch and applying for a street tree could assist with creating a low maintenance verge, combat weed issues an create a natural, environmentally friendly verge.

Ground preparation and soil improvements play a significant role in the success of a verge garden and should be integral to your verge improvement planning.

Removal of existing lawn and weeds is critical to help your Waterwise verge garden thrive. This can be completed manually or by using a natural herbicide. It can be a hard task; planning into the timeline is important.

Local sandy soils need improving as they lack many nutrients required for plants to thrive. To increase soils microbial activity and nutrients, apply a soil conditioner like compost, native slow-release fertiliser and clay to the top 30 centimetres. Local soils can be water-repelling. Adding a wetting agent will increase the soils ability to allow water and nutrients penetrate to the plant root zone.

The best time to plant is after substantial rain, generally in late autumn or early winter. Planting makes the most of natural rain to get plants established and reduces scheme water use. Avoid planting in hotter months, as new plants will struggle to survive without considerable water.

The best plants are those suited to our local environmental conditions. Local native West Australian species are the most Waterwise plants, as they have adapted to our dry climate. Consider planting different local plant species which will attract diverse wildlife.

The Grow Local Plants brochure provides information about local native plants and where to find them.

When selecting plants for your verge, be careful not to plant declared weeds or prickly and poisonous plants. Some native species can also become environmental weeds.