It was bound to happen. With high food and gas prices, water rates going up and available land going for biofuel, some suburbanite was probably going to plant over their lawn and azaleas with, dare we say it, crops. An April 22 report in The Wall St. Journal, by Kelly Spors, talks about the trend of moving the backyard tradition of growing a few supplementary vegetables during local growing seasons, to the front yard - and turning it into a business. The technical name is SPIN (small plot intensive) farming, and loads of folks are doing it. LawnsToGardens and PathToFreedom are but a few examples of web-sites with additional information about this interesting trend.
This was an interesting article with the Wall Street Journal
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My copy of Edible Landscaping is well used and I'm reading Gardens Not Lawns right now. I've long been a fan of edible landscaping--if you are going to plant a tree for shade, why not make it a fruit tree. Given that there are now food riots around the world and it will get worse if people insist on growing corn for biofuel rather than food, this is a trend that is likely to grow.
The Pottager was a form of formal herb garden that used to be very popular so maybe people who have a hard time because the eighbors think beens and tomatoes shouldn't be in the front yard can grow basil and rosemary and be the envy of the garden club!
Tiffany thanks for the comment, do you have any stories or seen anyone talking about Sub Farming lately?
I like this topic alot.
Deb anything stand out with the Gardens not lawns book?