Edible Estates - Artists Doing What "Ethnics" Do

http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/edibleestates/main.html

This is interesting. These artists are turning front yards into gardens with edible plants.

It's an "eco" thing, a kind of "anti-lawn" statement. Of course, they ignore the fact that a lot of people have let their lawns die, and replaced them with mini farms. They just don't happen to be of the demographic that reads Art in America (or does so secretly).

The artists write:

" Edible Estates proposes the replacement of the American lawn with a highly productive domestic edible landscape. Food grown in our front yards will connect us to the seasons, the organic cycles of the earth and our neighbors. The banal lifeless space of uniform grass in front of the house will be replaced with the chaotic abundance of bio-diversity. In becoming gardeners we will reconsider our connection to the land, what we take from it and what we put in it. Each yard will be a unique expression of its location and of the inhabitant and their desires. Valuable land will be put to work."

"The Edible Estates project will be implemented in 9 cities in the United States over the next 3 years. An adventurous family in each town will offer their typical suburban front lawn as a working prototype for the region. They will dare to defy the sweeping continuity of their neighborhood's green lined streets. Working together with the family and additional helpers the front lawn will be removed and replaced with an edible landscape. This highly productive garden will be designed to respond to the unique characteristics of the site, the needs and desires of the owner, the community and its history and especially the local climate and geography."

....

Uh, yeah.

Here's a good response to these pretensions:

http://blogging.la/archives/2007/08/sidewalk_veggies.phtml