Those small strips between sidewalks and streets are often the most challenging to plant - plants there seem to scorch, fry, and die - especially in the heat of summer!
They get walked on, sprayed with winter deicing salt, oil, mud, and all kinds of debris. Plus, the confined space and compacted, poor soil often make growing plants with large root systems nearly impossible!
These narrow strips of land are often referred to as hell-strips.
It takes a certain breed of plant to handle this harsh environment!
Time to discover drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plants that add color, fragrance, and pollinator appeal to tough curbside spots!
You need resilient plants that can handle drought, salt, pollution, and tough conditions without demanding constant attention.
Read on for nine resilient perennials that are well-suited and prepared to take on these hot, dry, full sun environments.
Top Plants For The Hell-Strip!
Check out these fantastic plants that are up for the challenge of salt spray, foot traffic, sun, heat, and pollution - and look good doing it!
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium
Yarrow is a highly adaptable, long-lasting perennial. It thrives in hellstrips and is beautiful both in bloom and after.
The large umbel flowers come in a variety of colors, and the thin, silvery fern-like foliage adds fine texture. Resistant to deer and rabbits and beloved by pollinators, Yarrow is a must-have for tough planting spots.
- Adaptable to most environments
- Large flowers from June through August
- 18 - 24 inches tall
- USDA zones 3-9
Varieties of Note:
Paprika - Bright red flowers fading to pink
Moonshine - Canary yellow flowers, compact grower
Sunny Seduction - Bright yellow blooms, larger habit
Sedums - Sedum spp.
Groundcover Sedums and their more upright-growing siblings, Stonecrop, are vibrant, robust plants perfect for hellstrips. Related to succulents, they thrive in hot, dry, full-sun environments by storing water in their leaves. With varieties that spread into a living carpet, Sedums add texture and color while handling the heat and light foot traffic near curbs.
- Prefers dry, well-drained soil
- Blooms summer into fall
- Full sun to partial sun
- Evergreen characteristics
- 6 inches tall
- USDA zones 3-11 (species dependent)
Varieties to consider:
Angelina Sedum - Chartreuse foliage turning orange in fall
Red Carpet & Cherry Tart - Red-tinted foliage, pink blooms
Lime Zinger - Flat green leaves with red tips
Cranesbill Geraniums - Geranium sanguineum
Unlike annual container Geraniums, hardy Cranesbill Geraniums thrive year after year! They’re tough perennials perfect for hellstrips, delivering long-lasting flowers and vibrant foliage with little fuss. Their cheerful blooms light up even the hottest days.
- Bloom late spring to early fall
- 12-18 inch spread
- Red fall color
- Full sun
- USDA zones 3-8
Varieties of note:
Rozanne - Blue flowers, longest bloom season
New Hampshire - Vigorous with magenta blooms
Daylilies - Hemerocallis spp.
Daylilies are nearly indestructible perennials that thrive in challenging sites like hellstrips. With strappy foliage and continuous summer flowers in endless colors, they’re a low-maintenance solution for curbside planting.
- Wide color range
- Up to 2 feet tall
- Summer blooming
- USDA zones 3-9
Varieties to consider:
Strawberry Candy - Pink with contrasting eye
Siloam Peony Display - Peach, peony-like blooms
Primal Scream - Bright orange standout
Black Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia fulgida
Black-Eyed Susans are classic perennials for hot, sunny strips. Bright golden petals with black centers bloom nonstop through summer, attracting pollinators while requiring minimal upkeep.
- 18-24 inches tall
- Bright yellow flowers
- Summer blooming
- Adaptable to most soils
- USDA zones 3-8
Varieties of note:
Little Goldstar - Compact with masses of blooms
Goldsturm - Reliable golden-yellow flowers
Coneflowers - Echinacea purpurea
Coneflowers are sturdy, sun-loving perennials that thrive in tough hellstrips. Their bold purple-pink petals and spiky orange centers bring long-lasting color while drawing in bees, butterflies, and birds. Heat, drought, and poor soil hardly slow them down, making them a true low-maintenance star!
- 24-36 inches tall
- Purple to pink daisy-like flowers with cone centers
- Blooms from summer into fall
- Tolerates drought, heat, and poor soil
- USDA zones 3-9
Varieties of note:
Walker's Low Catmint - Nepeta x faassenii
Walker’s Low Catmint thrives in hot, dry soil. Its fragrant silver foliage and purple blooms attract bees and butterflies while shrugging off drought.
Shear it after bloom for a tidy, fresh flush. Easy to grow and very hardy, native varieties can self-seed and spread by self-rooting or self-seeding for easy mass plantings
- Silvery-green foliage
- 18-24 inch spread
- Lavender to Purple flowers in spring
- USDA zones 3-9
Bugleweed - Ajuga spp.
Bugleweed is a tough, drought-tolerant groundcover for hellstrips. Its dark foliage and bright purple blooms provide weed suppression and pollinator support, thriving with little fuss.
Like their native forms, these are fast spreaders, making groupings and mass plantings a cinch!
- Dark purple-brown foliage
- 4-6 inches tall
- Purple flowers in spring
- USDA zones 4-9
Varieties of note:
Chocolate Chip - Compact, light purple blooms
Black Scallop - Dark, textured leaves
Creeping Thyme - Thymus praecox
Creeping Thyme is a fragrant groundcover that shines in tough strips. Its pink to dark pink blooms attract pollinators while its aromatic leaves release a fresh scent under light foot traffic.
Pollinators adore these blossoms, but when not in flower, the dense foliage looks great throughout most of the year!
- Only 3-4 inches tall
- Pink flowers in spring
- Handles light foot traffic
- Fragrant foliage
- USDA zones 3-9
Blue Glitter Sea Holly - Eryngium planum
For unique curbside color, Blue Sea Holly is unbeatable. Its spiky, metallic blue flowers, spiny-looking foliage, blue-green to silver color, and roots thrive in dry, hot soils while adding dramatic texture. Long-lasting as cut flowers and beloved by beneficial insects, too.
With vibrant flowers, pollinator appeal, and unmatched toughness, these drought-tolerant perennials transform hellstrips into beautiful, low-maintenance garden showcases!
- 6-8 inches tall
- Blue flowers in summer
- Blue foliage
- USDA zones 4-8
Caring and Supporting Plants in a Hellstrip
A hellstrip might be one of the toughest places to grow anything, but with the right care, even this skinny stretch of soil can become a thriving mini garden. Plants in this exposed strip face road spray, pollution, foot traffic, and compacted, poor soil, not to mention the blazing sun and heat bouncing off asphalt.
With a little extra support, you can help them not just survive, but shine!
Tips for helping plants thrive in a hellstrip:
-
Improve the soil first by loosening compacted ground and mixing in compost or just native topsoil to boost drainage and nutrients.
- Mulch generously to lock in moisture, protect roots from extreme heat, and reduce weed competition.
- Water deeply and infrequently so roots grow strong and reach deeper soil layers for resilience during dry spells.
- Protect roots from traffic with stepping stones, edging, or gravel paths to guide foot traffic and 'desire paths ' away from plant crowns.
- Keep maintenance simple with hardy perennials, native grasses, and shrubs that won’t need coddling in this challenging strip.
Final Thoughts - Turning Hellstrips Into Heaven!
From Yarrow and Sedum to Creeping Thyme and Sea Holly, each plant brings lasting color and resilience to those challenging curbside spots. Pick your favorites and turn that once-barren strip into a blooming paradise!
Happy Planting!
