plants for right of way

by Beth
(South Orange, NJ, USA)

I live on a county road in New Jersey and have a large strip of land between the street and the side walk. Currently, I have beautiful weeds with the occasional strand of grass. I would like to plant some low maintenance plants or ground cover which would withstand the cold weather and occasional salting/sanding of the roadway. The area is about 750 feet long and 5 feet wide and has light conditions ranging from part sun/part share to full sun. The area is not fully covered by my sprinkler. I was thinking about some low grass or perennial ground cover. My landscaper has no idea what would tolerate these conditions. I would prefer to use seeds due to the size of the area but if that is not possible will use small plants and wait for them to fill in. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Doug says that this is a very large area to maintain. Ground covers are actually more trouble and work (lots of weeding and pulling grass) than turf. If it were mine and I didn't own it (but it was an eyesore) I'd be tempted to sow it with grass seed and simply mow it. That would be the cheapest, most effective thing you could do.

But putting perennials or ground covers in there is going to create a ton of work.

If you're ready for the work and some expense, I'd be tempted to use ornamental grasses (a medium height grass so it won't block the traffic views) because they'll spread nicely and quickly. I'd also consider daylilies because these too can take the conditions you're proposing and will fill in. But they'll all require weeding.

If you want a really cheap but terribly invasive ground cover that you'll hate yourself for planting in a few years (birds spread the seed) then highways routinely use crown vetch. It tends to smother out competitors.

Hope that gives you a perspective to think about