Wednesday, August 5, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: Edible Estates: Attack on The Front Lawn


"People say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one!"
-John Lennon
I first got introduced to Fritz Haeg when I saw a report on him on a "CBS News" video and posted the video.
It always does my heart good when I find there are like minded people on this planet. Especially folks like Fritz Haeg. He has designed four projects, turning front yards into gardens or "Edible Estates". What we have here is a great book on the subject of ripping out your front yard and putting a garden of edible delights, and aesthetic beauty in it's place. While being a cross between a story of Haeg's Edible Estates project and an intelligent coffee table book, It is filled with stories and journals of all the homeowners involved from Salinas Kansas to Lakewood (Los Angeles) California; Maplewood New Jersey to London, England. You get an Idea what went through each homeowners minds when given the opportunity to replace the lawn with a veggie garden.What will the neighbors think? Can it be aesthetically pleasing? Included in the book is Fritz's design plan for each project.
Also included in the book is some Stories written buy folks who know this stuff, Like Michael Pollan, who wrote about his fathers dispute with the "community" on not mowing his yard, which made me laugh and think of my own father's hate for the front yard. Of course Dad wanted to rip out the grass and pave the yard, which thankfully for my mother he never did, but still, I'd like to think he would have been very interested in my thoughts on removing grass and growing veggies and fruits instead.
Haeg also goes into slight detail on why it is better to have a garden than a front yard- the dreaded mowing, no fertilizer, pesticides, watering is cheaper (takes less to water plants than grass)
So in Short what we have here is a great book on a great subject, one that will help quell the fear of ripping out your front yard and laying your cards carrots on the table! A must read for anyone who hates lawns as much as I do. And note: for those who are watching to see if I bought this book during Crunchy's Buy Nothing Challenge- Please note: I bought this book from an Amazon Seller, before August first, and it is a used book. So :p!

3 comments:

hmd said...

Thanks for pointing me to your review! I'm with you. I hate lawns, but can't quite convince my hubby to rip out the grass and just put in rocks instead. Oh well. We have managed to transform the backyard though, exchanging 250 of the square feet to raised bed veggie garden. Tastes way better than grass :)

Green Bean said...

Love the review. I've never heard of the book before but I'm a big fan of front yard gardens. Will definitely have to check it out.

Chile said...

Sounds like a good book with practical tips, something I've read was lacking in the other well-known anti-lawn, pro-garden book.

In my front yard, I'd like to rip out the ornamentals and replace the gravel (which attracts cats that need to "go") and put in a garden, but alas it is a rental house and I doubt the owner would be thrilled with the change.