AbeniYesterday my boss told me that the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street is called a HELLSTRIP, and it's the best thing I've learned lately.
A species list and planting guide for your local hellstrip!
Hellstrip Plantings: Creating Habitat in the Space Between the Sidewalk and the Curb - Ecological Landscape Alliance
by Heather McCargo Urban environments are dominated by pavement, the bane of most living things. One area ripe for community greening is the hellstrip – the narrow space between the...
James Longhurst
What the Hellstrip? -
Horticulturist Lauren Spring Ogden was spot on back in the 90s when she coined the term “hellstrip” to describe the trampled-on, stepped-over, parched, neglected, unsightly, unspoken-for, dog-potty strips of land between the sidewalks and the street curbs. Since then, the garden-minded among us have been quietly crusading for better treatment of these slivers of earth […]
@JamesLonghurst My spouse thinks it would be a great band name and AGREED
I was just talking with a group about alternative names for "boulevard" the other week. Actually I was asking for regional nicknames for the little connector sidewalks to the street, which I've heard people call "catwalks" here, but that also applies to the mid-block sidewalks in between houses.
Hellstrip is EXCELLENT.
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/gardening/21015037/add-curb-appeal-with-a-hellstrip-garden
@JamesLonghurst it's very apt. I'm going to try this year (for the second time) to get some plantings established there. We'll see if I can talk them into sticking around.
Artemis@anxiousrage
LOL. I've always heard it referred to as a "curb strip" but "hell strip" is very more evocative.
LOL. I've always heard it referred to as a "curb strip" but "hell strip" is very more evocative.
@artemis so much. and I found this old interview with the person who coined the phrase and it's the perfect descriptor for what a rough place it is to get things to grow.
Big Gay Tinkerer 
@anxiousrage That makes perfect sense
Sam Levine@anxiousrage The name goes well with the bike gutters* present on the other side!
*where a "bike lane" is really just the unmaintained part of the street with the sewer drains, here in CA it's often half concrete and half asphalt, so there is a lovely seam in the middle to avoid
@SRLevine oof, yeah. I used to bike commute in NYC and DC. It's...not great.
Flatbush Gardener 🌈@anxiousrage
Yes, hellstrips are legendary in NYC. Since that's where we plant our street trees, sometimes also known as a "tree pit".
Yes, hellstrips are legendary in NYC. Since that's where we plant our street trees, sometimes also known as a "tree pit".
@xris tree pit is what I called them when I lived there! I worked for city council for a while and found out how many people loathe street trees. 🙃