by Pam Bresler, HCMG |
Edible Estates
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When you were preparing
dinner last night, did
you harvest some Bermuda
grass and garnish your
salad with live oak
leaves? No? Well maybe
you have a boring,
non-edible landscape!
What if you snipped some
vibrant green parsley
and cilantro, pulled a
few scallions, and threw
in some "Neon Lights"
chard? Colorful
landscape, colorful
dinner. If this is
definitely outside your
comfort zone, maybe
hearing the message of
Fritz Haeg, the
proponent of "Edible
Estates" might open your
eyes. |
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Fritz was originally an
architect, but now
describes himself as a
"practicing artist."
Based in Los Angeles, he
has planted nine
regional prototype
gardens in California,
Kansas, New Jersey, and
London. His goal is to
"graft" the idea of
agriculture, with its
long, boring
tractor-made rows, with
the art of urban
landscaping in a program
he calls "Public Ideas
for Private Lands."
Fritz's website is
edibleestates.org, and
he has a book with that
title coming out
mid-2008. |
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Fritz reminds us that an
out-of season peach from
Chile has tremendous
cost for consumers: your
wallet feels it first,
but the fuel and
pollution costs are
often ignored. The
pesticides used in other
countries are suspect,
as well as cleanliness
standards. The message
of eating seasonally and
locally is gaining
traction, as our
gasoline approaches
$3.00 per gallon. Take
that a step further.
What if your local food
supplier was YOU? Even
in the dead of winter,
your garden can be
loaded with cold-hardy
produce. Fritz
emphasizes that when the
first neighborhood
pioneer tears out his
grass and plants an
edible front yard, an
amazing thing happens.
Neighbors come by to see
what you're doing. Next,
come the children who've
never seen a carrot
pulled from the ground.
Soon, you are sharing
excess produce with
newly-made friends.
Then, they want to know
how to put in an edible
landscape in their yard.
He claims the dynamics
in a neighborhood
undergo positive change. |
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I once tore out the
grass in my front yard,
as that was the only
sunny spot I had. My 45'
x 16' garden went all
the way to the
front sidewalk. It was a
flower garden, rather
than an edible
landscape, but I did
have herbs and garlic in
there, along a wandering
path through the middle,
and a lemon thyme edging
along the driveway.
Soon, neighbors
stopped by to ask about
my unusual plants. I
guess they hadn't seen
many Texas Bluebonnets
in Michigan! Next, I had
children who helped me
weed, deadhead, and cut
flowers for their
mother. Many seniors
asked to walk through
just to smell the
old-fashioned roses. My
neighbors, who'd lived
in the area for years,
didn't even know their
own neighbors. Soon, I
knew scores of them. I
had to add seating in
the shady areas, because
often neighbors would
sit and visit. So, I
believe front yard
gardening can change a
neighborhood and be a
public outreach for
Master Gardeners. If it
is an edible landscape,
that is a bonus! |
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