How narrow? What horticultural zone do you live in? Is this in sun or shade? With such information we can suggest plants that need less care and look more intentional than grass.

My horticultural zone is 9b, there is no shade over it, and it's 32 inches wide

Short hedge like boxwood?

I was thinking about that and some flowers to add some color, but my neighbor said he's not agreeing to anything that he will have to maintain through his side.

i forgot the name, it has little orange flowers. had them back home in tpa and st pete, sister had a whole hedge and storm flood dumped too much salt on it. Mexican Heather does great there, very tough little guy. Blue daze does well too. I did not grow this in my garden, but i read that coneflower does well down there. In addition there are several herbs. get some mints that spread out. I recommend that you actually plant a garden. If you find a little bigger bush that won't be a lot of trim work, hmm was it ilex?-my mind burps sometimes, i lose things. Anyway. plant this slightly large bush, like rosemary, or a sage every few feet then fill in inbetween like 3 coneflowers then fill in between those with the spreading ones. if there is an annual you like fill that in yearly, one flat, you will be amazed at how easy it is, most herbs love abuse. when i plant, i take one of the omega 3 fish pills break one in the bottom of the hole, then i put root tone on the roots - plants are treated so they don't grow big roots, it wears off, but often not soon enough. Fill the hole with water place the roots in fill with potting soil. cover with mulch or leaves. I created a English Garden in Tpa, of course it was fl style. It was during one of those droughts were everyone was spray painting their grass. After a week water thoroughly, if it is doing well start backing off. till you will no longer water except of the worst of times. dump all leaves and plant matter under the branches.

One thing, there really is no such thing as a green thumb, if it grows everyone heralds you. But i have planted rows of plants many times. There are spots that look the same and are not. Don't try the same thing put something else there. Eventually you will look like you have this special garden that you planned, only you know that your green thumb is really just plant preference.

I am not too fluent in that warm of a growing zone (we are 5.5-6), when I lived at the coast (8-8.5 I think) I had several hedges. The boxwood really didn't need to be trimmed very often 2 maybe 3 times a year (I am not a hedge perfectionist, but it looked good most of the time I thought). Since they aren't generally very tall it isn't very hard to do.

If you aren't into trimming don't do Laurel it grows way too fast.

I am not a huge fan mostly because I am allergic, but some people quite like the low growing, spreading evergreens (Juniper I think is one variety). Heather and lavender can also be pretty.

I think the perennials when adjusted for your yard are your best best, they never need trimming. I would recommend Hibiscus, but even those get big sooner or later, I am positive that one leaf across that fence is going to give you nightmares, but when you grow the herbs, people just love smelling them.

How about your rock idea and also plant clumping bamboo in front of the fence? It's not as invasive and in 2-3 years it will hide the chain link fence.

This is also clumping bamboo.

Hmmm in fl it always is. you could do heavenly bamboo?

I don't think I would every voluntarily plant bamboo...my experience is only invasive...

Thank you all very much for your insight! ... @groveraxle that is very nice.

Mine is straight and slopes downward with my driveway and my house is not fenced in. (I wish it were!)

@havingfun I will look into that. :)

If you show a photo it would help with best ideas.

Heavenly Bamboo is invasive??? We had one for 10 years and it never spread.

Heavenly bamboo is not invasive because it's not bamboo. Its real name is nandina something-or-other.

Oh, dear!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandina

If the side yard is only 32" wide with a chain link fence on the edge, there is barely enough space to walk on that side so planting anything other than ground cover is not going to work. I think my first move would be to try to disappear the uncooperative neighbor, maybe with some bamboo rolled fencing attached to the existing fence.

Then use pavers, gravel, ground cover, or whatever else you like to fill the space. If it creeps over to his side, maybe it will replace his weeds. And whatever it does, you won't have to look at his side anymore.

There are tons of groundcovers that would work go to your local garden center and get something you like and really put up the bamboo fencing .

Grovelaxle has it right, with 32 inches, you don't have enough room for bushes. It sounds as if you rent the place since you mentioned owners. The bamboo screen Grover is talking about can be installed and removed easily. Dwarf mondo grass is low maintenance with a few stepping stones. This way you can still have the area for yard access. If there is a chain link fence in between, your neighbor won't have to do any maintenance and you won't see his un-maintained yard.

Sorry....I meant Grovelaxle!

Plant spirea. You can do it as a hedge, although my experience is that they self-seed, so if you have a budget, you can get plants for free.

I have never seen spirea down there? Sometimes, somethings they say grow down there only grow under very limited conditions. Like hostas i rarely saw, and pointsettia i saw exactly once in over 40 years. now the one i saw apparently loved it where it was at because it was 4' tall and nearly as round! But if she could plant Spirea i think her neighbor would throw a fit! I had one that was over 8 ft round! Though at least up here, never saw babies.

Oh and Grover is right in most places like up here where nandina is beautiful and my mom has some in FL though it is not as pretty down there. But, I recently read where some states have banned it so op you should check if you plant it.

My problem with planting anything tall or that gets large in that median is that people like that neighbor tend to get hostile. i have seen people not like something in my mom's yard and climb over the 6 foot fence to chop it down. and I had similar problems down there. One man had a vine on my hedge, his renters planted it there, with his permission, killed most of the hedge and many antique roses, spraying poison on it. Also reported me, when i did not know how to get rid of it.

Hence the reason i point to a small perennial garden that will smell good bloom a lot and be no work, with out messing on her part.

Again, thank you all very much. Sorry, I have been sick and busy, busy, busy.

@Groveraxle, there is plenty of walking space thats just how wide the strip is. I will definitely post pictures and more info tomorrow.

I have quite a few things I want to do around here, and need help with. I've been in this house 6 years, but lost a child in this home and everything just ... stopped.

Now I'm ready. I appreciate the help and advice more than you guys know.

Be blessed everyone. Goodnight. :)

azmnn, I am truly sorry for your loss. I know that stopping feeling well, how long it takes just to learn to breathe once again. And please, do not give another thought to your neighbor and his ratty yard. You owe him nothing. Give to yourself instead.

Thank you so much and I will. He is just unnecessarily rude and difficult to communicate with. I've had my absolutely beautiful rug that took me FOREVER to find that matches PERFECTLY with my living room decor, knocked off the fence in the mud, vinegar and salt poured on herbs that were BARELY sticking through a few holes in the fence in the backyard, (but his yard, especially the back is atrocious!), and have had my landscaper threatened over doing that strip because he has to SLIGHTLY go under the fence, which is actually helping him ... sorry for venting here, it's just so frustrating. I just want to live in a nice peaceful home and I don't know what his problem is, nor will he communicate what is. He's only been here about 2 years and has been this way since day ONE! (literally) ... there I go again, sorry. :)

I'm just now enjoying my morning tea, I will post pictures in a little bit.

Consider putting a raised brick-look edge along the fence line and along the driveway, and filling with wood chips or stone. We have wood chips and they've never been an attraction for children.

Or use a low ground cover, but still add an edging along the fence line.

Maybe all you need is a mow strip along the fence line.Or add the higher piece if you want to use chips.

This is a less expensive option that eliminates the need to trim. fence border guard

Put on your Big Girl Panties and get a survey done. Make sure the corners are marked by re-bar driven deep into the ground. Any ground on your side of the line is yours to do with what you will. Personally, I would erect the highest solid wood fence allowed by your city codes...and have the "attractive side" facing my property.

But as she has said. she rents.

I am so very sorry for your loss. And i understand your neighbor issues.

I think i have it now! A rock garden. I used to stop at a shop and every week i brought home $10 of rocks. Just stack them up, when done, have the highest side towards neighbor, as it slopes down to your side, add dirt in the crevices and plant small cascading plants there. There are many that do well in heat and sun, but due to their nature, they will not get large, may take a little while to accomplish it, but you will enjoy the flowers and he will see only stone.

May you have a very happy holiday this year.

I started to have a fantasy about running bamboo, the kind that grows 3 ft. in a day, that would take over his yard and send him screaming into his house, never to emerge again...then realized it would take over your yard, too. So squash that idea.

I'd put some of that cheap edging at the fence line...

...then cover the fence with those bamboo poles, and be done with him. Then you can do whatever you want on your side.

I too am very sorry for your loss, and I know Christmas must be very hard. Check into Houzz on Christmas there will be some of us around, for sure.