Yeah, so ... as it turns out, I'm a lunatic. More on that later. Well, actually it'll become apparent as you continue reading.
Every year I tackle a big project. Stupid big. Permanent injury big. 4 years ago it was throwing out/selling everything we own and redoing our house. 3 years ago it was ripping out and redoing the entire backyard. And last year it was building the Architectural Digest inspired chicken coop.
Keep in mind, I do these things myself. I don't hire someone. Because I'm cheap. And stupid. And quite frankly don't trust other people to do things the way I want them done. And I'm cheap.
And as you may have guessed, every fall when I finish up my major project I say, I AM NOT DOING THIS AGAIN! I am going to enjoy one SINGLE summer of my life!!! I'm going to lounge and drink beverages because I WANT to, not because I have to replenish electrolytes.
So this year I've decided to rip out my entire front yard, bushes, lawn and various plantings ... and put in a front yard vegetable garden.
Because I never listen to myself. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not all that smart, so clearly my judgement is not to be trusted.
This decision came in several parts. A few years ago I knew the front bushes would have to come out. They were just too big and couldn't be contained. I didn't plant em there so it's not like they had any sentimental value. Last year I noticed the grubs had won the war with my lawn. I planned to throw down some nematodes, see how it did this year and rip it up next year if I had to.
Then about a week ago the weather got really warm in Southern Ontario. Armageddon warm. So the fella and I headed outside to rip all the shrubs out.
In fact, it was warm enough that I started thinking about gardening. And vegetables. And how I'd much rather eat a carrot than a blue spruce. So while we were pulling everything out I decided to grow a few vegetables and stick them in front of my house amongst the replacement shrubs and trees.
And then I decided the replacement shrubs and trees could suck it. I'm growing vegetables! All vegetables all the time! I'm not going to try to hide them in the perennials, I'm not sneaking them in around the side of some bushes, I am overtly and proudly growing vegetables. I may even get a rocking chair and learn to whittle wood out on my porch.
I started my own vegetable garden in my parent's house when I was about 12 and have missed having one ever since moving into this house. Sadly, the only place around my house that gets sun is the front yard and it never occurred to me to, you know, rip everything out of the front yard and replace it all with vegetables. Because that's what crazy people do. Next thing you know, I'd be shoving petunias in an old toilet and entering it in the floral competition at the county fair.
Well. Turns out I'm crazy. A lunatic in fact. Because I am in fact giving my yard one summer of vegetable heaven. If my front yard vegetable garden experiment works out, I'll continue with it. If not, I'll go back to the way it was with shrubs and bushes.
Of course the trick will be to make it look good. Charming. I do have some vanity when it comes to my front yard, you know. I'm not a complete loon. The existing flower beds around the outside of the lawn will stay the same, other than the removal of a few asshead roses that die every year around June 24th and present as angry bare twigs until the next spring. Those will be pulled out.
New lawn will be put down, and all the beds around the house will be reserved for vegetables.
I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life.
Here is what we accomplished in about half a day. Not even ...
To look at a picture of the front of my house it doesn't look all that alarming, but it is well on its way to being a mess.
The grass looks like it recently underwent chemotherapy. It's of no use to anyone other than the grubs, skunks and trolls. I plan to eventually get rid of all the grass at some point, I'm not quite brave enough just yet.
Everything needed to come out.
And it did. Hey look! We have a porch! And a nice one.
Before ...
During ...
After ...
To give you a bit of perspective, this is the mess as seen from the roof.
There are a few steps left.
1. Remove all and cart away all the brush.
2. Dig up the sod and dispose of it. I'll probably throw it in the backyard for the chickens to have fun on.
3. Level out the grass area and plan the size of the beds.
4. Lay down the new sod.
5. PLANT THE VEGETABLES.
6. Sit around and wait for a few months.
7. EAT THE VEGETABLES.
So, that's the gist of the plan, give or take that's how it should all go.
I'll keep you updated on a week by week and possibly day by day basis. I was actually going to hold off on this post until the whole thing was completed, much like the chicken coop. But I decided against it for one reason and one reason alone.
I hope, from the bottom of my lunatic heart, that this post inspires you. If you have a plant you hate, a bush that does nothing but anger you, roses or trees or twigs that need constant care and attention. GET RID OF THEM. Try, even if just for this year, a front yard vegetable garden.
Look at Cubits and Twig & Tree for heirloom vegetable inspiration.
Need help starting your own seeds from scratch? Take a look here at my "Starting Seeds" post.
I'm pretty proud of myself here. I've always wanted a vegetable garden and really the only thing that was stopping me was convention. You just don't turn your front lawn into a vegetable patch. Well. Yes. If you want to, yes you do.
Because I figure, if I'm going to screw around and devote hours of attention, watering and feeding a plant in my garden, it should at least return the favour eventually, and feed me.
GO TO DAY 2 of The Front Yard Vegetable Garden
GO TO The Front Yard Vegetable Garden REVEAL
Stay tuned for the rest of this continuing saga including what vegetables I've chosen to grow in the small space I have, vegetable growing tips for YOU and the finished product with ideas on how you can incorporate vegetables into your home no matter where you live.
April @ Money Pit Love
I love that you're doing this! Why NOT create a front yard that you both enjoy and find useful?!
We are doing something equally crazy (sort of) with our own yard: killing off/pulling out all the grass and replacing with 100% clover. This is more than frowned upon here in the 'burbs and we are basically making ourselves pariahs in our neighbourhood, but it's eco-friendly (GOOD for the environment, even!), low maintenance and beautiful. What's not to love? (except the hate mail we'll receive from the neighbours. We won't love that)
Anyway, all that to say 'Good on you!' A front-yard veggie garden is just plain awesome.
Karen
April - Be careful with the clover! The problem with clover (and why neighbours don't like it) is it spreads through it's root system. So while you may want a clover lawn, your neighbours who don't want a clover lawn will end up with one because of yours. (if your lots join) If your grass is separated by a driveway or other such thing it should be fine. Clover doesn't spread easily through seed. Another nice alternative is creeping thyme! ~ karen
Jeannine
My mother replaced her front lawn with creeping thyme and some other low, low growing greens a couple years ago. She left the perennial beds, so now it's a lovely gray green framed by flowers. She has a couple of meandering stone paths winding through it. Low maintenance and gorgeous!
April @ Money Pit Love
Creeping thyme was definitely on our list of contenders but the preparation required to plant it was a little daunting. We're in Halton and our soil is mostly red clay, so it would require a considerable amount of topsoil and fertilizer to make it work, otherwise it would have been perfect.
We are absolutely worried about the aggressive nature of clover since we DO share a lawn seam with our neighbor to the south (and his version of lawn maintenance is 14 hours a day, Saturday and Sunday, basically trimming his lawn with nail clippers. To say he's fussy is an understatement, so we're pretty sure he's going to stuff a pipe bomb in our mailbox by next year). We're hoping to minimize the spread by digging a trench along the seam and filling it in with 6x6 lumber: basically railway ties but raw wood. If we treat the soil underneath with herbicide on an annual basis, would that reasonably discourage the roots from venturing over? We know nothing about lawns so if you have any suggestions about how to keep it contained, I'm all ears! (and very grateful)
Janelle
What a beautiful, delicious and ambitious idea! Will you do raised beds, or on-the-ground beds....or is that top secret?
Brenda j
I did my semi-detached, front yard into a perennial garden...taking out a stretch of grass each year and adding to the plantings. Split plants over the years and given some to neighbors etc.
Such a wonderful way to burn stress and enjoy the fresh air.
I'm adding some veg and herbs this year for a bit of a change. Green Thumbs crossed!!!
The greatest part.... I've even had rowdy looking teens stop and tell me how they love my garden. Now how cool is that?
Jinger
We started a vegetable garden in our backyard this year and are taking it pretty slow, but totally loving it so far. Eventually we'd like to get rid of all the grass and make it a nice space to hang out instead of our weird big buggy backyard and bring some of it around to the front, too.
I can't wait to see what you're going to do, as it's sure to put ours to shame! Have fun!
JamieK
Karen,
I'm very impress with how you removed those large shrubs! I have 2 acres of woods behind my house that I am trying to clean out (everythng but the trees). Will you please come over and remove all of the scrub elm? I can't get their roots out of the ground!
Thanks and let me know when you'll be over. I'll have a big pitcher of adult beverages ready.
Nancy Blue Moon
Awesome Karen..I am doing some raised beds this year..Herbs..tomatoes..lettuce and anything else I decide to try..I will be following along for your advise for sure..
Alix Bouchard
Ok, so I've been considering doing something crazy for my front yard that you might be crazy enough to appreciate. Moss yard. Screw grass, who wants to cut the lawn all the time? No one. Unless you're weirdly in love with John Deere or something like some people. But anyway, there are so many types of moss, some are just like grass but don't grow tall. I've heard of people replacing thier lawns with this moss and never have to mow the lawn again! It just sounds too interesting to not look into.
Karen
Alix - I love the moss look. The only thing is, the really beautiful, soft stuff can be expensive and takes a long time to spread. Looks great though. Just stay away from Clover! People promote having a clover lawn instead of grass, but by putting in a clover lawn, you're almost guaranteeing all of your neighbours will have clover lawns too (whether they want it or not). ~ karen!
Lisa
I found your site clicking about here and there and love it.
Welcome to the dark side! Front yard veggie garden is my life... literally. Two years ago I got tired of limiting my veggies to 2 beds in the side yard so I convinced my husband to allow me to "till under" my east lawn. We went from a 150 sq. ft. vegetable garden to a 3200 sq. ft. veggie farm. I was like you, it must be pretty, but the flower beds must remain intact. My garden was a combo of raised beds, in-ground planting and meandering paths. The in-ground planting will be a thing of the past this year. I'm building new raised beds to tidy things up.
My challenge here (Pacific Northwest) is that we don't have the "luxury" of our garden being covered in snow in the Winter. So my garden looks a little... um...a little janky. But in the Summer it is gorgeous.
Karen
Hi Lisa! Glad you found my site. We actually didn't have any snow this year in Southern Ontario. It was very weird. It was the winter that wasn't. I love raised beds, but my beds are currently a bit curved so I'm going to try in ground plantings and if it doesn't work, I'll change it up to tearing out the lawn and putting in raised beds in that area next year. 'Cause life isn't fun if I haven't created a stupid amount of work for myself. ~ karen!
Maureen
It's a great idea. If you get grubs in the new lawn, turn the chickens out into it. They'll eat every last one of them! One fun thing you can start now is, cut the bottom off a bunch of celery and it will grow a new bunch to transplant to your garden. It worked for me.
anna
Karen! I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see the progression.
Raquel ]
Hi Karen,
I've never commented on your blog before, but I wanted to share with you another blog that I've found so helpful with my own gardening. It's http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/easy-organic-garden-plant-food.html -- and there's loads of information, including cheap, organic recipes for pest control and plant food. I wish you well on all your garden endeavors!
--R
taria
Is that man there I see the fella? Glad you have hornswaggled him into helping with the big stuff.
I don't have a summer project yet. My back just hurts from weeding the perennial garden yesterday. You take it easy.
Kimber
Thank you for posting this! We moved into a new old house last September and as I go out to prune something that's grown wild, I end up just ripping it out. I needed some validation, because I'm sure not getting it from our new neighbors. Good luck this summer!
Jess
I wish you good luck with your garden. I, too am expanding my garden and ripping out anything that have no purpose (it has to feed me otherwise it's out).
Happy Gardening!!
Laura Ingalls Gunn
Tenacious bulldog! Here's some inspiration for you from my friend Brooke.
http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/velvet_and_linen/2010/05/our-kitchen-garden.html
Her yard is a similar setup as what yours appears. I love that you have a picket fence to contain your future edible decor.
The veggie gardens at Versailles near the Queens hameau are gorgeous too. Let me dig through my pics of France....
Course I haven't sent you the mailbox photo either.
Karen
LOL. That's O.K. I'm loaded UP with photos of mailboxes from around the World now. I'll go have a look at your friend Brooke's site. ~ karen!
Karen
O.K. ... it's stunning. Like STUNNING. I absolutely completely and totally love it. They've done a FANTASTIC job. Now that I've seen the whole lawn up and the pea gravel .... well ... Oh no. Uh oh. ~ karen!
Shannon V.
Karen, I am on my knees bowing down at your feet. You are a Queen!!!! I can not wait to see the progress of your front yard. This year I am planting my very first veggie garden in my back yard (which does get tonnes of sunshine)...Just need to get out there and rip out that ugly Purple Leaf Sand Cherry and the over grown, scraggly Forsythia. Thanks for the OK to do so and the tonnes of inspiration!
Sally
Maybe this will work. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150218331330641.439116.669045640&type=3
Kristin
Hi Karen
I live nearby on the mountain and I feel your pain. My front lawn is a breeding ground for grubs and an open buffet for the racoons and skunks. I've also been feeding the bunnies with all the clover that manages to grow in between the crab grass. I've been having the same "tear it all out and plant a garden" impulse that you're having. Just can't win over my fella to take the plunge. Another fear of mine is that the fella starts thinking green acres and then all of a sudden I'm Eva Gabor. I have to be careful what I wish for ;)
I can't wait to see how yours turns out.......maybe I can show him how great it would be to just sit on the front porch and watch the veggies grow.
How do you plan to keep all the critters from having a late night buffet on fresh veggies? Are you going to block it in with something fun like a short electric fence...lol...that would make for an eventful evening sitting out on the porch while you're whittling.
Karena
This sounds so fun! ( No I Know it is a lot of works and so good that you have a helpful fellow around!)
Of course being me I would have to add some viney things like squash, pumpkins, and decorative cabbage!
I hope you will come and see the feature I have on an amazing sculptor.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
The 2012 Artist Series
jen
our house is a 1922 cottage bungalow that we're completely renovating. Along with the interior & exterior renovations will come a total reboot on the landscaping. We already ripped out all the privet bushes and obnoxious holly. Next the pine trees will come down (they lean over the road and our neighbor's house in a way that makes us nervous for the next wind storm) and then our friend (an edible landscape designer) will help us plan out the best way to maximize the sun we get in the front yard. fortunately, here in Asheville, NC (USA) having a garden in the front yard is not unusual. can't wait to see your progress!