Posted on 02/22/2009 12:44:31 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Why is America so in love with pristine, empty front lawns that isolate neighbor from neighbor, require dirty fuels to mow, harsh chemicals to prevent weeds and loads of water to keep green? What happens when those lawns are ripped out and replaced with an edible landscape?
Those controversial questions are at the heart of internationally acclaimed architect/artist Fritz Haeg's work over the last five years, and were the subject of a talk he presented Thursday as part of Olbrich Garden's Midwest Gardening Symposium.
The symposium, attended by over 160 gardeners, included four other speakers who were part of a day-long program touting the benefits and pleasures of edible gardens, a subject made more urgent by the current economy and issues surrounding food costs and safety.
The symposium was a collaborative effort between Olbrich and the University of Wisconsin's Allen Centennial Gardens.
An increasingly influential young artist whose work is supported by major institutions like the Whitney in New York, and the Tate Modern in London, Haeg is a harsh critic of the expansive and perfectly manicured lawn. He sees it as a symbol of an idealized elitism that has encouraged Americans to separate themselves from each other, and from the natural world.
Projects like his Edible Estates and Animal Estates have been featured in the New York Times, major design publications and on National Public Rado.
In communities from Salina, Kansas to Los Angeles, and Maplewood, New Jersey to London, Haeg has helped individuals tear up their front lawns and replace them with edible yards.
He has chosen communities where making a garden front yard out of lawn creates some tension and controversy, issuing a deliberate challenge to the notion that our idealized home should be viewed in an empty, park-like setting. Those conformist ideas are reinforced in many places by long-ingrained habits, or even by community covenants or ordinances.
His work includes extensive documentation of the process and reaction to the edible yards over time. Haeg's book describing the project, "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn" was offered for sale at the talk. Shortly after the artist's appearance, all 50 copies ($24.95) sold out.
Haeg -- lanky, soft-spoken and amusing -- wore a knit hat throughout his Madison appearance, but assured the audience he was not put off by Thursday's deep cold and bitter wind, even though he had just flown in from his home and studio in Los Angeles.
"I'm a 4th, maybe 5th, generation Minnesotan," he said. "I was born and raised under these conditions."
Haeg, a gardener himself, made a strong case for lawns as an environmental and social disaster. But even some of those in the Olbrich audience who identified themselves as unabashed lawn mowers said they appreciated what he had to say.
"I mean, what kind of company makes a sign with little cartoon kids and dogs crossed out?" Haeg asked to ripples of laughter as he showed his audience a slide of the kind of warning signs chemical lawn care companies post after applying pesticides to a yard.
The rest of the day's speakers also encouraged home gardeners to think about adding more food to their gardening practices.
Jennifer Bartley, a landscape architect and author of the book "Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager," showed how gardens kept in close proximity to our homes and filled with herbs, fruits and vegetables have nourished the human spirit and stomach from the beginning of time. She advocates bringing such gardens back into the residential landscape, for aesthetic reasons as well as practical ones.
Mark Dwyer, director of horticulture for Janesville's Rotary Botanical Gardens, is an expert on combining garden-fresh vegetables and herbs as an edible part of spectacular landscaping. In his talk, he showed how perennial flower beds can share space with edible annuals, and how it's possible to make a garden as nutritious as it is beautiful.
Other speakers included Janet Macunovich from Pennenial Favorites in Michigan who is an expert on using color in the garden, and David Cavagnaro, a professional photographer and manager of the genetic preservation gardens for Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa, discussing the use of heirloom vegetables in contemporary gardens.
Quite true. My dad has a green thumb and his backyard garden is great, a six-foot strip all around the perimeter of a large backyard, which is bounded by a six-foot solid cinderblock wall. He grows carrots, raspberries, tomatoes, corn, peas, etc. We could convert our backyard but at this point I get better deals from the local farmers and at the farmer’s market which sells from April through November. They taste great also, especially the tomatoes. I just question whether one can sell the idea of yard gardens with the promise of less hassle than grass. The veggies are worth it but it is generally quite a hassle.
I went ahead and put in my order tonight. :)
I couldn’t resist! I had to get a 3 year old blueberry bush, too!
Oh, I doubt they're OCD enough to do that. Besides, in my neighborhood the resolution of the satellite photos isn't good enough to zoom in and see what someone has in her back yard.
Well they certainly know we’ve built a pool in our backyard in the past year.
Why is America so in love with pristine, empty front lawns that isolate neighbor from neighbor......trick question?
If this guy met my neighbors, he would know.
A pool is def easy to see from the air. Besides, the neighbors just might have noticed the bulldozer, dump trucks, grader, cement mixer, etc. Rows of vegetables might be a little less noticeable.
What I’d actually like to do is transform my front yard so that there is a brick walkway down the middle of the yard with a cutting garden type border on either side. I love fresh flowers but the standard perennial garden doesn’t yield enough to fill the house consistently all summer; a cutting garden does. This isn’t practical but it would make me happy.
What I really can’t figure out how to sneak past the local Waffen Schutzstaffel is a few chickens. The community guidelines specifically forbid livestock and poultry. Considering the national and ethnic background of some of my neighbors, this might not ordinarily be a bad thing.
A three year old blueberry bush sounds wonderful. I’m hoping you get fruit this year from a plant that size. Blueberry muffins - yum!
My raspberries were little bareroot twigs when we first put them in. By the third year they were big producers.
A word of advice from old timers that I’ve found to be so true:
First year, sleep (putting roots down), Second year, creep (slow top growth), third year, leap, when plants take off.
I’ve gardened enough to find sleep, creep, leap is pretty much true in my zone 4 climate. Raspberries are an exception, though. You’ll get a few the first year, then watch out! LOL
Fellow who lives near me has these “everbearing raspberries”.
Really. I didn’t believe it either till I saw them with my own eyes.
They start fruiting in May and go till the first frost, I’m getting my hands on some this year if I have to buy his place right out underneath him!
I also ordered 2 two year old blackberry bushes and a two year old raspberry bush. I’m not expecting anything from anything the first year (don’t want to get my hopes up!), but the year after that should be fun!
I just learned how to can this year and I’m very much looking forward to putting up my preserves. :)
Nice job. Are those Delphiniums?
Your dog looks ready to eat everything on that table.
Thank you! Yes, those are Delphiniums, one of my absolute favorites. :)
My favorites too. Are yours the full size or one of the smaller no stake needed smaller ones?
I moved from an apartment 2.5 years ago so this will be my third season with my perennial garden. I haven’t planted a vegetable garden because I worry about runoff from my neighbors lawn chemicals.
They’re of the New Millennium and Pacific Giant varieties. I ordered them from here: http://gracefulgardens.com/delphin.htm
Staking them is kind of a pain but worth it. They rebloom all season long too. I love their colors.
Beautiful colors. Thanks for the link. I can’t wait for Spring.
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