Ankeny, IA Invasive Plant Rules: Front Yard Gardens (2026)

Ankeny Code of Ordinances § 167.04, Exceptions to Height Restrictions, carves gardens out of the 12-inch vegetation cap in § 167.02 as its fifth listed exception, covering "areas dedicated to growing fruits or vegetables for personal consumption or to growing flowers, native plants, ornamental grasses, ground covers, shrubs, and similar plants which are cultivated and/or mulched to remain free of weeds, grassy weeds, or volunteer plants." That exemption comes with two hard limits printed in the same subsection: "Vegetation in gardens shall not be allowed to grow onto adjacent property," protecting neighboring lots from encroaching plantings, and "Fruit and vegetable gardens are prohibited within the public right of way," which rules out planting a produce garden in the parkway strip or boulevard in front of a house even though ornamental plantings there can be allowed under a separate streetscape exception.

The subsection adds that general landscaping such as flowers, plants, and grasses is likewise "not be allowed within the public right of way" outside an approved streetscape or development landscape plan, and that the City owes the property owner "no compensation" for any damage to or removal of items placed in the right-of-way, since anything planted there sits on land the City controls. Because § 167.04 exempts a garden from the height cap rather than from the City's underlying nuisance authority, a garden that is abandoned and reverts to overgrown volunteer plants and weeds can still be cut and assessed under §§ 167.02 and 167.03 once it stops being an actively cultivated garden.