Thanks for the comments and links, guys. If I get enough baby-free time that isn't spent in the garden, I'll try to post a pic. I have a 1969 straight brick ranch. It doesn't have any nice architectural features and looks exactly like most of the houses in my neighborhood that were all built together. Because it's a starter neighborhood, few people have spent any money on landscaping, so I see a lot of what doesn't work (overgrown yew foundation plantings, box trimmed junipers, no care at all, etc). The former owner of my house tried to spruce it up and added a large raised curving flower bed with rock borders in front of the house and filled it with too-closely planted lilac shrubs and some vinca. The curving lines, large rocks and raised flower bed actually help the house's look, making it one of the nicer fronts in the neighborhood. The hell strip originally had a tree circle lined in rock border to match the house, with various bulbs and lilies inside. The rest of the strip was grass. We removed all but 5 of the largest rocks when we replaced the scrubby city oak with a prettier kwanzaa cherry. My hubby's answer about best mowing line would be 'straight' or no mowing at all!! Second best would be the widest angle possible since the strip is so narrow. I have been trying to think of something that would have straighter lines but give the illusion of curves. Thanks for all the responses.

That's funny - it's an argument my husband and I have had for the 15 years we've been stuck mid-reno: I say exactly that: why clean/organize/tidy a construction zone? He says, why finish anything if it is going to be a mess anyway? While we were arguing, the kids grew up in spite of the mess/half-finished house, and now we have more time and energy. I'm not at all familiar with your climate or with Bermuda grass, but have been a keen student of hellstrips and custodian of one of my own for a long time. Some thoughts: If people park there at all you should make areas for passenger exit from cars, because people sometimes want to park badly enough that they will trample your plants. Perhaps you can actually control where people will park by creating mulch or paver areas to accommodate them (depends on how competitive parking is around there). Anyway, I would begin your plan by laying out the bones for such walkways, along the curb and from curb to sidewalk, just as you might for any garden design project. I have seen some that put a pathway along the entire roadside, but this is one narrow strip so that may not be do-able. The other thing you can do to give this space something other than a linear character is to use other hardscape instead of all plants - boulders? stumps? a trellis down at the wide end where it wouldn't block the stop sign? garden junk? (I have some old sinks that contain my aggressive spreaders in my hellstrip). As an aside, hard things discourage parking just a bit more assertively than plants do, although single occupant vehicles won't notice and others can always pick-up/drop-off their passengers at the corner.... What kind of root zone was left when the city poured the sidewalk? If there is just a shallow trench of dirt, your plants are going to have a hard go of it, but if it is truly an opening into deep soil, trees might have a chance. You could put up columnar types a safe distance from the stop sign or prune the canopies to ensure stop sign visibility. Shrubs, in contrast, will mature and broaden at the wrong heights for most types of vehicles. As far as plant selection is concerned, I could be worse than useless given my zone (I can identify perhaps three of the plants Bahia has listed for you!), but in general terms I have some preferences based on the public nature of such a strip. In my "urban renewal" environment, littering is endemic and there is a risk (thankfully quite low) of litter of a particular unpleasant nature. For that reason, I like to be able to see the area quite bare at least once per year. So the only evergreen plants I like are those that are ground-hugging that no garbage can hide under, and the stuff that bulks up a lot is perennial - it either dies back or I cut it back (quite carefully) when it's done. Tree trunks excepted, obviously. An option that would work for me if your hellstrip were in front of my house would be to use some ground cover succulents (my experience is limited to sedums and sempervivums) that may be evergreen, offset with some hardscape and funnel-shaped pathways crossing the strip, and punctuated with either blooming perennials (such as those poppies) or manageable trees. In fact, this would be really awesome just planted with sempervivums from one end to the other! KarinL

My ex didn't want me to get this birdbath and it is one of the things that was the final straw in our marriage. Actually the other thing was three round bales of hay. That was nine years ago. When I had this birdbath on the other side of my creek before I moved the garden over here, I had Ranuculas around it which looked really pretty. When I get my new bare root roses through the mail, the roses get put in the bird bath prior to planting. All the large rainfall last Summer killed my perianals around the birdbath. I will have to get some more My girls put this statue in the birdbath some years ago, the lady is nursing a baby and I thought it was appropiate. Too bad about her neck or head and I haven't repaired it yet.

Haha, yea I have heard of some interesting stories about tOSU then. I am graduating this qtr from tOSU. tOSU has changed quite a bit since then. I am actually sitting in the Thompson Library right now which just underwent a $140 million renovation and the old student union was demolished and a new one was built, completed, and opened just this qtr. The medical center is also spending $1 billion due to building a new university hospital. I vaguely remember one of my former job supervisors talking about the harryness at tOSU during that time period, especially during the KSU shootings, rallies, and students continually flooding the south dormitories. Quite interesting to say the least. If you haven't been to Columbus lately, the city as a whole has changed DRAMATICALLY since that time. Columbus is a very nice city and one of the few markets in the midwest that is economically progressing, stable, population is increasing, and so are local businesses and real estate. The Short North is now one of the nicest and most booming parts of the city, while 25 years ago, it was far from that. Oh yea...stop and smell the roses at the Park of Roses if you stop by again as well, although I know Cali has numerous wonderful rose gardens as well.