Customer Reviews

Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, 2nd Revised Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish I'd read Fritz Haeg's 'Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, 2nd Revised Edition' before I planted my first vegetable garden. Then, I might have been brave enough to locate the garden on my front lawn (the only spot that gets full-day sun), instead of the less-ideal side yard. I was worried that a front yard garden might look too weird to the neighbors. Not any more! The essays, case studies and beautiful photographs have inspired me to begin planning a new vegetable garden smack in the center of my front yard. Not only will my new garden be beautiful and tasty, but it will also help build community in my suburban NJ neighborhood.

I highly recommend this book if:

* You're considering a new vegetable garden or any front yard garden; and
* You're already an experienced gardener

It's not a a basic 'how to garden' primer, but there are plenty of other books on that topic.

Now, I'm in the 'design' phase. But I'm eagerly anticipating spring to break ground and start planting!

This is a well organized book. Very well done, however I was a bit disappointed that there was not a project in the South East.
We live in South Carolina and there was no demonstration project nearby. The concepts were very well developed and presented. Kudos for the photography which was excellent.

This book has a lot of great ideas, pictures and descriptions! As someone who already grows lettuce in their front yard, I really enjoyed this book.

Great ideas, great book pointing the way to great transformations of our bland American yards, our misshapen evergreen landscaping huddling up by foundations, hemmed in by the expanse of lawn desert. My HOA will probably "get it" in 25 to 50 years. Or not. By that time we'll be a museum piece for that bland '70s suburban look.
For everyone else, YES! ATTACK THE FRONT LAWN!

When I first heard of this book I was entering my "I want to have a totally native yard" phase. I put my name on the list at the library and waited at position 2 for over two years! My library finally figured whatever out and I gleefully picked this up last week and pored over the pages.

I'm a little bit of a boat-rocker and for some time I've wanted to have a buffalo grass lawn. I see now that even though my neighborhood is not a bastion of green-ness, it just would not be appreciated and have now set my sights on something more acceptable but still not a lawn. This book gave me just the inspiration I need to put things in motion! You don't need a lot of money to get something started, and while the yards in this book had the help of a massive crew and supplies provided for them I still felt like going out to my front yard and hoeing a corner of the weed-lawn that is currently there to plant some corn.

My goals are not so lofty as those who do something like this because of "the environment". By no means is keeping a garden a work-free option, but for me I find it less work than fertilizing, watering, aerating, edging and mowing a lawn is. I hope to bring more of a sense of the word "Neighbor" to my neighborhood by planting an edible estate. I used to have fears of someone stealing all my hard work, but I have decided to believe the best about people and if someone does take the food, they must really need it!

I think the time has come for serious consideration of more productive use of our properties.