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Using the front yard, when the neighbors are watching ...

Urban and suburban gardeners share their miracles, growing fruits and vegetables right in front of everybody.

 
Often, you'd never even know that vegetables are waiting for harvest alongside meandering stone pathways, or that orchard trees are hugging houses with blooms and colorful fruits.

I've been practicing organic gardening since 1980. When I built a home of my own in Hubbardston, Massachusetts, in 1997 however, I dug in deeper than ever before. Since then, my gardens have expanded from one 20 x 20-foot area for all crops to include a 50 x 20-foot banking that I rotate for squashes, corn, tomatoes, and sunflowers; a 30 x 30-foot cottage garden for perennials; 1/3 of my front yard for greens, carrots, and hot-weather vegetables; two large strawberry patches; and most recently, 5 fruit trees. 

While I garden for my own pleasure and the health of my family, I'm thrilled when people stop and gaze at my gardens. Many folks want to know about my eclectic gardening practices, and why I chose to dig up my lawn and plant Swiss chard and carrots! I'm so happy to talk to them about recycling organic matter back into the beautiful soil; protecting the birds, worms, frogs and toads by using organic fertilzers; and finding a special way to express myself through and with nature. What could be better!

Laurel Nelson-Cucchiara

I live with my husband and three young children in the city on a plot of land about ¾ of an acre. At first the thought of gardening on this space seemed daunting to me! What would the neighbors think?

Nevertheless, we gave it a try last summer for the first time and were deeply rewarded. We tilled up both the side and front yards to use as much of our sunny spots as possible. I reserved the back yard for my kids to play in as it was mostly shade anyway. We grew chard, kale and spinach in areas with more shade, while potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, zukes, cukes and many other vegetables flourished in the sunny spots. We had an herb garden right out our front door that welcomed our guests with wonderful smells of rosemary and basil. We tried to make the garden areas as attractive as possible by using clear fencing or natural repellents (marigolds, etc.) to surround. The neighbors did not complain a bit! We were encouraged and complimented by many around us. And the best part: We were able to can and freeze so much food for the winter! As I look ahead toward spring I am very excited to try again and see if I can carve out even more growing space from my tiny city lot!

Carrie Van Duinen
Kalamazoo, MI

I grow vegetables and fruit and nuts for my husband and me on our half acre lot in south central Texas, plus keep hens to till the garden and produce fresh eggs. The hens live in a movable, open-bottomed pen which I move to whatever part of the garden needs to have the soil scratched up and fertilized. To forestall any complaints from neighbors, I offer to share the bounty. Some of my neighbors have now started their own gardens. Who wouldn't want to get in on such a great thing? Here's a picture of some of the veggies I harvested the day before our first freeze of the season in November. The lima beans I've dried, and they'll last all year until there's a new crop. The tomatoes I've stored in closed paper bags, and we're still eating fresh tomatoes as of Jan. 4th.

-- Barbara Lamar
San Antonio, Texas

I don't have the problem of an unuseable back yard (quite the opposite) but as a renter I do have the problem of not wanting to pay for flowers and "prettiness" for a front yard that might not be mine in only a few months. I overcame the ugly weedy factor AND the desire to keep my hard work for myself and my friends by creating car-tire beds in my front yard. I have simply piled old car tires into different sized stacks, painted them with colorful (and spare) house paint and used them to grow my harvest. By lining the bottom with open weave hessian, the nutrients and worms can pass easily through the bottom but if I ever need to "uproot" and move, they fit easily (if somewhat awkwardly) onto standard moving trollies. I also like to grow my chamomile in the front yard as it looks and smells so beautiful.
 
-- Catherine Bateman, Melbourne, Australia.

Yes, grow vegetables not only in the front and back yard—but in the carpet strip between the sidewalk and the street as well. The city of Lincoln limits the height of vegetation in the carpet strip to 31 inches so the tomatoes sprawl a bit, but it is the best sunlight we have. Also, as the land is public, belonging to the city in name at least, we do not prevent poachers, but most of our neighbors, even after being invited to pick at will, respect that it is grown in our yard and come up to the door to make sure it is okay to harvest out front. I am a city girl from Chicago originally.

-- Kate Honeyman
Lincoln, Ne.

 

 

I am proof that you don't need a lot of space to grow food locally.  I live in a trailer park and was able to grow 3 varieties of tomatoes, garlic, lettuces, basil, squash, beans, peas and flowers.  We were able to sustain ourselves in vegetables this summer almost totally on our postage-stamp yard and even managed to put a little away.  I am so proud of what we did on such a small bit of space.  This spring we're going to try growing even more varieties. 

-- Juli Hoffman, Michigan

Greetings from Carrboro, NC. We live on a ½ acre lot, on a main road with city bus stop in front. Large oak trees complicate our fantasies about home grown veggies.

But, the deer fence is up—the weekend last fall when the local herd decided our yard was the place to be for male displays, jousting and general sexual frolicking was the clincher. Our neighbor is unhappy but will hopefully grow accustomed to our new look. Next job is the lovely, hard-pan, gray clay soil. Sigh!

-- Melanie Cecil

Dorothy Anciaux, in Seattle, Washington, dug up her lawn and planted a few fruit trees grafted to have four varieties on each. In between the trees she planted a riot of flowers and vegetables, planned to produce throughout the growing season. She let whatever would re-seed grow, where ever it happened to root. In particular she planted edible flowers and salad greens which she harvested twice weekly for two restaurants. When she had credit built up from the sales, she would go out to eat there, often taking friends who had helped her in her garden. She also grew most all of her other vegetables including a great patch of Jerusalem Artichokes, which she gave away to anyone. She loved to cut flowers to give away to the many passer-bys who came to admire her wonderfully creative yard. She gardened entirely organically, with no toxic fertilizers or pesticides. That turns out easier in the long run, as you discover the many safe alternatives to deal with insect pests. She had a big compost pile which neighbors contributed to.

Dare to do a better thing than those around you, to grow food and flowers instead of lawn. Neighbors will copy and thank you. Don't even hear criticisms, "they know not what they say."

—Anore Paniyauraq Jones
 

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