Boulevard Gardens

The City of St. Catharines requires property owners to maintain their boulevard vegetation. Learn about the basic horticultural practices that must be followed for maintaining your boulevard.

What can be planted on my boulevard?

You can plant herbaceous materials on your boulevard. These plants have stems and foliage that die back to the soil level at the end of each growing season.

What can't be planted on my boulevard?

Hedges, shrubs and trees cannot be planted on boulevards, except by the City or Region.

In addition, plants must not:

• Exceed a height of 30 cm
• Impede the sight lines or travel path of road or sidewalk users (i.e. pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, etc.)
• Obscure or restrict access to fire hydrants, post office boxes, or other installations belonging to the city, region or any utility provider
• Contain thorns, burrs, or any material that is protruding, sharp, or dangerous in any way, or which may otherwise cause injury
• Impair drainage
• Overflow onto the street, sidewalk or neighbouring property
• Inhibit snow removal operations
• Impose a trip hazard (i.e. soil must be flush with the curb and sidewalk)
• Include permanent installations such as in-ground irrigation systems, fencing, or hard mulches, such as pea gravel or small rocks

Boulevard maintenance

Boulevards are for public safety and to accommodate and provide access to City utilities. The City, Region, utility providers, and contractors may need to do work on boulevards which can sometimes remove or damage any vegetation.

Please note it is not always possible to contact adjacent homeowners before starting this work. If work is done to the boulevard, we are only required to restore the boulevard to turf grass.

Tree planting programs

The City and Region operate tree planting programs for boulevards around the community. If your boulevard is selected to receive a tree, existing vegetation materials are not guaranteed to stay.

Call before you dig

If you plan to dig on your property, contact Ontario One Call to request a locate before you begin. There may be utilities or services underground that cannot be seen from the surface. Free underground utility locates can be set up to avoid damaging any utilities or services. Don't forget to call any utilities or agencies that are not members of Ontario One Call.

Some utility providers require setbacks for vegetation. You are responsible for contacting any applicable utility providers about these setbacks.