I pulled this image from Google; it's a World War II Victory Garden poster. The WWII Victory Gardens were inspired by the Liberty Gardens of WWI. What an amazing thing these were! I think that in 2012, the Victory Garden concept is still applicable. People should grow some of their own food to save money, to cut down on oil consumption, and to just have fun! (ok, there's lot more reasons, but I think these 3 reasons speak to everyone.)
Easy for me to say, right? I like gardening and truly, it comes as naturally to me as riding a bicycle. (HOLLA to my agrarian gene pool!) What about my neighbors? My neighbor behind me has a traditional garden that he grows because he likes fresh tomatoes (um, who doesn't?) and fresh cukes. He makes a mean salsa-but he gardens because he enjoys it. I have a neighbor across the street who grows a few things (again, love of that fresh tomato!) and another neighbor around the corner who, in spite of being busy with 3 toddlers, manages a small garden patch.
I live in the suburbs. I have hundreds of neighbors. I really only personally know 3 families in my neighborhood who do any gardening. What about everyone else? (yes, I'm sure some are gardening behind their privacy fences!) This gardening season, I'm going to see what kind of neighborly interest I can drum up by planting a a front yard Victory Garden. That's right. I said it. I'm going to grow vegetables in front of my house. Oh, the humanity!
I have a perfect spot along side my driveway that just BAKES in the hot summer sun. I don't water the front lawn, so it always looks bad. (ask me if I care. I do not.) It would be the ideal spot for peppers, for rosemary, for so many things. The neighbors already know me as "that crazy garden lady", so why not prove how crazy I am? I'm still in the thinking stage of this little project (Brad doesn't even know....how long can I put off telling him?? ha ha). I'm thinking some simple raised beds, maybe 2 feet wide and 8 feet long, starting at the end of my perennial garden. Also, some sort of laminated "victory garden" poster from the 1940's announcing what I'm doing. Maybe some edible flowers (nasturtiums, maybe?) to pretty it up a bit.
What do you think? Will you proudly plant a front yard garden this summer?
I love it! I wish I could plant in my front yard but alas it is super shady, even worse than my back yard. I can't wait to see it!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I'm thinking of doing a couple of vining plants like squash on tepees in the front yard. We're on a hill, so it would be easier to do than a raised bed. I love the idea of the victory garden sign. I may have to do the same!
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love it! If we weren't thinking about possibly moving, I'd fight hard to do a garden on the side of the house that gets all the sun. Maybe I'll start by asking for that so that my other ideas sound a little less crazy to Mark ;)
ReplyDeleteAs you noted from the Stay@home blog, I'm already well on my way to that front yard garden. Hockeytown hmm. Just around the corner from us in A2. Redwings are doing remarkably well this year. Much different than last years up and downs.
ReplyDeleteSquirrels lend themselves very easily to Benny Hill. ;)
When I looked at the overall costs of putting in a garden it showed that using economy untreated pine was actually the cheapest way to build a lot of beds per linear foot. As I put in 600SF of bordered raised beds in the front, expense was something to consider. :)
DeleteGood luck in your conversions! This is my first year 'wowing' the neighbors. Most of the comments from them are quite positive. The others I suspect simply do the neighborly thing and keep mum about it.
Last year was my first garden with 64SF. This should be 1500+ for the 2012 year. ;)
The other idea would be to use a bunch of 5 gallon buckets to place a single plant in, say brassicas, or multiples like carrots.
Hey, there, neighbor! I am indeed very near you as I'm on the west side of Hockeytown (rabid Wings fans here!)....'bout 20mins from A2 =) I will be definitely watching as you progress with your front lawn transformation. I'm so impressed that you've gone from 64ft2 to 1500+? Dang. I was all excited b/c I doubled and went to 320ft2 last summer.
DeleteMy neighbors already think I'm crazy (but they enjoy "minding" my garden when we travel-and by "minding" I mean EATING), but I really do believe that to spur people on to move away from the mindset that perfectly manicured front lawns are the ideal, *someone* has to show them what else to do. Your beds are attractive, orderly, and ought to really attract positive feedback.
I was thinking about using some of my larger pots along the driveway, too. Kinda along the lines of 5 gal buckets.
Thank you for the kind words. We get a lot of people walking around here for either pets or exercise. A number of them even detour from the adjacent street to say hello if they see me out there. As far as I can tell its positive.
DeleteThat was the goal. Get the garden I want, but still have curb appeal, orderly looking yard to make everyone happy. Setting a good example. No one wants to spend the next years getting snickered at. :)
I'd say go for it with the pots. I've been thinking on how to block off the 2 foot pathways between the beds along the sidewalk. As I didn't create a fence but trellises for things to grow up and keep pets out. Perhaps Ill find some 5 gallon buckets and place a single amaranth plant in each. That way every 6 feet there will be this 6 foot tall crazy colored plant. :)