There’s a big transition going on.
Lawns are being replaced by food gardens. Everywhere.
People are casting aside the non-productive lawn and replacing it with a productive asset. Smart.
For intrepid people stuck with a house that only gets good sunlight in the front yard, there’s a problem.
If you plant a front yard garden, you might run afoul of stuck-in-the-past zoning laws and homeowner associations.
In most cases, you’ll win the contest. If not, keep trying.
Here’s an example of a young couple that dove right in with their new house. Although it was small, they started off with a bang, they filled their entire front yard with medium depth raised beds.
Next, they simply filled these raised beds with compost.
Next, they lined the pathways with cardboard (free from a nearby bike shop) and covered that cardboard with wood chips (free from a town nearby) and installed a drip irrigation system.
After a year of planting/work, the result is pretty impressive. Not only does it look great, it’s produced quite a bit of food for them.
So, to answer the town and association critics that say that a garden will depress land values.
Show them the “legal or approved” alternative. Here’s the neighbor’s lawn. It looks terrible. It doesn’t produce anything of value. If anything, it costs money.
To me, the only home in this neighborhood worth buying is the home with the garden.
I suspect if you are reading this letter, you are thinking the same thing.
Sincerely Yours,
JOHN ROBB
