Vegetable Gardens

The board has had numerous requests for garden information this summer. We understand they are near and dear to so many people in the community, but we also have to consider our responsibility to maintain the beauty of the community in order to keep property values up. Please know that we put much thought into this, reviewed homeowner emails, spoke to realtors, and reviewed the guidelines for other area communities with similar property values. We know not all lots are the same and if your property has a special situation, please explain it in your application and it may qualify for a variance. As always, please make sure you save approved applications in a safe place.

The Board also realizes that there are currently unapproved gardens located within restricted areas. Since we are currently in high gardening season, we would not ask you to move them now because we don’t want your plants harmed. However, unapproved gardens in restricted locations will need to be moved and approved before next year’s spring season arrives.

• Approval. Gardens require board approval using the application process. Include a plot plan with your application showing the requested location. If a deck or patio has already taken up the approved garden area in your yard, consider adding a few containers on the deck or patio instead. The board will review your location request against any easement restrictions that might be in your yard, especially drainage easements. (A garden can not be placed directly over a drainage grate, for example.)

• Location. Gardens are not permitted in the front yard or side yards.

• Location. Gardens are permitted in the backyard behind the back plane of the house. If a house is on a corner lot with two street frontages, the garden is further restricted to the inside half of the backyard, away from the street frontage. See drawings for detail. Do not place a garden bed directly on the property line. As with playsets, garden beds should be located five feet from any property line.

• Screening. Gardens that are properly located do not require any type of landscape screening. Proper placement reduces their visibility from the street.

• Garden Limitations. Garden sizes should be appropriate to the lot and open space. Gardens are limited to a maximum of four separate garden beds and a max of 150 square feet in total. (For example, a 6x6 bed = 36 sq feet x 4 beds = 144 sq feet.)

• Garden Supports. Trellises, cages, stakes, or other vertical mechanisms are used to support plants as they grow vertically, typically used for vining, creeping types of plants. Typically made from wood, plastic, or metal. These items should be removed from the garden at the end of the growing season and stored indoors over the winter. A permanent arching-type trellis would need to be approved through the application process.

• Garden Protection. These items are intended to protect plants from animals, birds, insects, or extreme weather events. A low-visibility fine mesh fabric can be used to neatly wrap or cover plants during the growing season and should be removed and stored indoors over the winter. Use of wire or mesh fencing (like chicken wire) is limited to the same footprint as the garden bed (see example photos). Wire fencing can not be used to surround multiple garden beds into one larger area.

• Garden Appearance. Keep gardens neat and trimmed during the growing season. Replace or remove any rotting structures or components as soon as they are visible. Choose your vegetables carefully so that they don’t excessively overgrow the beds and spill into the lawn or neighboring properties. When the growing season is over, clear out dead vegetation so that the beds look as neat as possible through the winter months. If you have used portable containers to garden, they must be stored indoors through the winter.

• Colors. Garden beds and components must be natural/neutral colors such as browns and greys. Brightly colored trellises, cages, or stakes can easily be spray painted to make them less visible.

Examples of Garden Protection