A guerrilla garden has quietly taken root in a suburban street on a once barren patch of sandy council land, with the renegade residents urging other Australians to establish their own thriving fruit and veggie patch.

Perth town planner and unofficial horticulturalist Greg Smith began the 15-year transformation process of the space — on Rose Avenue in Bayswater — by planting some lemon-scented gums.

Soon guava, fig and lemon trees followed, along with chillies, marjoram, parsley, avocadoes, pomegranates, garlic and more.

The garden — which spans the full length of the house next door — was described by Mr Smith as a leafy haven which could be picked by all, and he said it had become a place for neighbours to come together.

"We've changed the nature of this space, and this space is within the town centre," he said.

"So it's given the town a utopian space, rather than a dystopian space which it was before, like a desert.

"People come from all around, I've seen people come here and pick figs … it's a public space, anyone can."

A thriving tropical fruit tree in the garden. ( ABC News: Rebecca Trigger )

Street resident Linh Ly, 45, said the garden promoted community engagement.

"Getting the community out there to engage with each other, looking at the plants, talking about it. I think it's important," she said.

"We tend to all live in apartments and housing, no one knows each other. This is just getting everyone out."

"When people come and seeing the work we've put in, they're quite amazed with the dead space it was and now it's fully grown."

'Stop putting impediments in', councils told

Mr Smith said the council had been largely supportive despite the unofficial nature of the area, although a bay leaf tree was at one point cut down.

Their experience is a far cry from the Sunshine Coast Council on the other side of the country, which chopped down and mulched 18 fruit trees in the hugely popular Urban Food Street precinct, citing a lack of permits and public liability insurance.

A map showing the old block before the garden transformation. ( ABC News: Rebecca Trigger )

Mr Smith said it was important councils did not act as roadblocks to community ventures.

"I think mainly what they should do is just get out of the road," he said.

"Stop putting impediments in, because when council sometimes says they're going to encourage it, they quite often do the very opposite.

"Through having so much bureaucracy, it's like going for a 10-kilometre run rather than a one-kilometre run to try to do something."

A chilli plant in the guerilla garden in Bayswater. ( ABC News: Rebecca Trigger )

Bayswater councillor Chris Cornish is pushing for the council to allow more food-producing gardens to spring up in parks around the town.

Residents are already allowed to grow fruit and vegetables on their lawns.

Bayswater Mayor Barry McKenna said the city was trying to get rid of red tape, and free up public open space.

"Blocks are becoming much smaller, what used to happen in backyards simply can no longer happen, there's simply no longer the space," he said.