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I imagine towns, cities, and even subdivisions will be putting ordinances on the books, or adding covenants that make front yard farming illegal, or not allowed in some areas. I wouldnt want to look at a front yard farm, I prefer the green grass of suburbia. Just my humble opinion.

Same here, of course this is coming from a person with plenty of room for a garden in the back yard.

Same here, of course this is coming from a person with plenty of room for a garden in the back yard.

I'm not ready to tear up my new front lawn (work-in-progress) to put in a garden, but I am seriously thinking of slicing into my backyard to create more growing space. With the rising cost of food, having a garden almost makes economic sense.

I think I've mentioned this before: In Grant Park, near the statues of The Bowman and the Spearman there is an ornamental vegetable garden that is quite pretty. That being said, there are plenty of plants that are ornamental as well as edible: I plan to put a dwarf yellow Swiss Chard in my front planter baskets this year.

I think I've mentioned this before: In Grant Park, near the statues of The Bowman and the Spearman there is an ornamental vegetable garden that is quite pretty.

Designed for the Prince Regent by the architect John Nash, Regent's Park is noted for its lovingly tended blooms. But soon the flower beds of that - and other London royal parks - could make way for rows of humble carrots, cabbages and globe artichokes.

In a plan inspired by American cities, the royal parks are pondering the creation of a string of model allotments to give the public a living, ripening illustration of the virtues of growing your own fruit and vegetables.

"The royal parks' role is not to have huge areas of land changed, but to act as a demonstration area to show what can be achieved," said Colin Buttery, the parks' chief executive. "We very much want to support the idea of people growing their food by doing small-scale demonstrations."

Buttery was one of a group of London officials who visited the US this year to see how American cities were feeding themselves. "We went to Grant Park in Chicago and they had some quite formal beds that had been converted into vegetable production but which were still quite physically and floristically attractive," he said. "They were clearly producing food but they had selected certain vegetables to give structure to the beds, so they had globe artichokes that produce flowers as well as a product"....

Rosalind Creasey's Edible Landscaping is a seminal work on this subject.

Doiron is pushing for edible landscapes everywhere from schoolyards to governor's mansions to empty urban plots. But his eyes are on the White House.

He wants the candidates to pledge they'll turn a piece of the 18-acre White House terrain into an edible garden. Or rather, return it into an edible garden.

After all, John Adams, the first president to live in the White House, had a garden to feed his family. Woodrow Wilson had a Liberty Garden and sheep grazing during the First World War. And, of course, the Roosevelts famously had their Victory Garden during World War II, a time when 40 percent of the nation's produce came from citizen gardeners.

Although my neighbors would never know it, I grow rhubarb, thyme and chives in my front yard. The trees I've planeted either do or will yield edibles (Cornealan Cherry dogwood, persimmion and pawpaw)

I picked up a used copy of "Square Foot Gardening," and am motivated to take my first stab at growing some vegetables and herbs this summer. But for the neighborhood I live in, I wouldn't dream of converting front yard space to vegetable gardening, and I'm even nervous about growing vegetables in the garden on the side of the house that's visible from the sidewalk. (Perhaps here's where I can sneak in a few vegetable and/or herb plants that have good ornamental qualities). I think I'll have to confine my edible garden mostly to the back yard.

Apparently this garden is being used as an international example.


Does anyone know whether the Grant Park vegetables are actually harvested and put to any use?

Although my neighbors would never know it, I grow rhubarb, thyme and chives in my front yard. The trees I've planeted either do or will yield edibles (Cornealan Cherry dogwood, persimmion and pawpaw

Funny this should pop up - this year, since I'm no longer renting a plot, I've slowly been sneaking ornamental-looking edible plants into my front garden. Thus far, I have a rhubarb in my rock garden, asparagus among my ferns, and hot peppers in the sunny area. I have seedlings for swiss chard, amaranth (callallo) and edible chrysanthemum that I'll add in later. When it looks good, I'll post pics.