Do You Like Front Yard Vegetable Gardens?
Sunday June 29, 2008
It's seems our Guide to Walking has been passing an increase in houses with front yard vegetable gardens. While Wendy enjoys seeing them, she prefers to keep her veggies tucked out of sight and out of reach. Living very close to a school yard, I feel the same way. It's just too tempting. Stop by and take Wendy's poll on your opinion of front yard vegetable gardens.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
we have a kitchen garden much like the one in your picture. the only thing i worry about is the melons. you can see them from the road and the whole garden just looks inviting, but since we share no one has to steal.
I forgot two possobilities on my other comment. Real Sweet Potatoes instead of the ornamental ones and how about of a couple containers of white potatoes? If you haven’t ever had freshly dug potatoes… Ummmm OH MY, you don’t know what you are missing!!!
I live in an area that is heavily wooded…sometimes the front yard is the only place sunny enough. Since I’d committed most of my garden space to perennial flowers, I’ve mixed in herbs into the beds. I pulled out some underperforming plants for a few hills of summer squash (the foliage is gorgeous). I do have an infrequently used parking pad, so I bought big galvanized tubs and punch lots of drain holes in the bottom where I have pole beans and more squash, and bush cucumbers. And several more pots of herbs. LOOKS great and makes me feel wholesome. This is my Victory Garden in 2008.
I actually am not a huge fan of a front vegetable garden. I guess I’m traditional in the sense of seeing a lawn in front and the vegetables in the back or something. But I’ve seen it both ways. Obviously, if the front gets the sun it makes sense. Food for thought!
My garden is in the front because my neighbor’s trees shade my backyard and I once fell and broke my ankle in the back. If I fall in the front, I am more likely to get help. I trim the entire garden with marigolds and zinnas. Another neighbor has a smaller front garden. It may look strange, but I am improving the soil, reducing my carbon foot print, and growing some great veggies.
People who are new to my part of the country(Portland,Oregon)tend to think that we are all A little crazy.For many years now people in the Pacific N.W.have been in the forfront of the practice of converting front-lawns,side-lawns,back-yards,vacant-lots and even roof-tops into garden spaces.The traditional grass covered lawn is A dying relic of the past that some people seem to have A hard time letting go of. A Lawn of Grass is an Environmental Catastrophe,wasting & polluting billions of gallons of water world-wide every year with fertilizers & herbicides that run off into rivers,lakes & ground water where it can harm fish,wild-life & humans alike,and if the lawn is being mowed by A gas powered mower you can add air pollution onto the list of reasons not to grow A grass lawn as well.
I have a small front yard veggie garden off to one side of my driveway. To avoid the temptation for local school kids (my house is actually the bus stop), I put up a small fence around it and planted raspberry bushes to train on it. My backyard wasn’t an option because dogs destroy everything I plant. The neighbors enjoy watching my two young children who love gardening and my garden is neat and tidy with lots of color, so I think it is an improvement over the bark-dust covered empty spot that was there before.
Cindy, raspberries sound like a good solution. It’s a deterrent without shouting stay out.