City of Madison Unveils a New Guide to Planting in Residential Yards and Terraces

National Pollinator Week, June 19-23, 2017

Anyone passing through Madison’s residential neighborhoods will notice the diversity and frequent creativity in what homeowners and renters plant around their homes, often extending to publicly owned street-side terraces. To help Madison residents understand what is and is not allowed in yards and terraces – and to reflect the growing interest in planting native plants, and edible and pollinator-friendly species – city agencies and the Madison Food Policy Council have collaborated in creating a new guide which is available online (http://www.cityofmadison.com/sites/default/files/city-of-madison/mayor/… ), and in hard copy at public locations citywide.

This guide is designed to help homeowners, renters and others make landscaping decisions consistent with two recent city initiatives. The Terrace Treatment Policy offers guidelines for what and how to plant within terraces, and the Pollinator Protection Report offers strategies to create and maintain pollinator habitat on city-owned land and private property across the community; both efforts represent productive partnerships among elected officials, city agencies, and citizen committees, informed by stakeholder input along the way. The City of Madison also signed the national Mayor’s Monarch Butterfly Pledge and was designated a Bee City USA this year.

Through accessible text and graphics, the guide assists Madison residents in distinguishing what the city allows within yards and along terraces, in planning gardens, pollinator habitats and "natural landscapes," and in understanding city ordinances protecting sightlines along sidewalks and curbs. The guide also contains links to sources of further information.