An Edible Front Yard
On July 4th, 2008, while their neighbors barbecued hot dogs and snacked on watermelon, Ashley and Chris Saleeba worked on a slightly more subversive Independence Day project: they dug out their front lawn and planted an edible garden.
In just one weekend, Ashley and Chris completely transformed their landscape. Gone was the weedy patch of grass, the lame shrubs, and the narrow, cracked sidewalk. In its place they planted an appealing edible garden that matched their modern aesthetic, fit their slow food values, and didn’t require spraying chemicals, spreading fertilizer pellets, or spending time behind a sputtering gas-powered mower.
What I love most about this garden is that even though it is full of edible plants, it doesn’t look like they have a farm in their front yard. The area to the left of the sidewalk features a keyhole design, with designated edible beds in the center. A mix of ornamental grasses, herbs, beneficial-insect attracting perennials like lavender and echinachea, strawberries and blueberries form a border around the vegetables. A gravel pathway divides the keyhole in half, neatly connecting the driveway with the sidewalk and the front porch. This smart addition makes it easy to cart groceries and baby gear (Ashley and Chris have an adorable baby, Lola) between the house and the car without trampling on plants or having to walk around the whole garden.
Ashley and Chris wanted their new garden to be more welcoming than their old landscape, so they remodeled the front porch and widened the sidewalk. On the north side of the yard Chris designed and built offset wooden panels lined with wire that peas, beans, squash, and tomatoes can scramble up in summer. These attractive trellises nicely delineate the yard’s boundary without seeming like a barrier. To help minimize water usage, Chris installed a drip irrigation system that runs off a timer.
When I visited this garden in December I was impressed with how nice it looked in the dead of winter. Alpine strawberries formed a pretty evergreen groundcover. Kale, bok choi and other greens filled the annual vegetable beds, crimson clover was germinating underneath the trellis panels, and neatly clipped lavender, ferns, and ornamental grasses added color and texture.
As you may have guessed, Chris and Ashley have some serious design chops. He has a Masters in Landscape Architecture and she is a graphic designer, and they just launched Fresh Digs: Edible Gardens with a Modern Attitude. They offer DIY kits for modern raised beds as well as the trellis panels, plus they create custom garden designs and sell cute garden accessories, including plant stakes. I can’t wait to see how their business unfolds, because if their own yard is any indication, they can help people reclaim their front yards and turn otherwise wasted space into a welcoming, productive extension of their homes.
I loooove this, but I’d be concerned that, because of how exposed their garden is to passersby, that someone would just steal their veggies. Did Chris and Ashley worry about this or is my midwestern city particularly depraved?
January 27th, 2010 at 6:22 amI’ve been watching the evolution of their garden throughout its transformation. Their garden is in my neighborhood; it looks lovely (and tasty)!
January 27th, 2010 at 9:55 am.-= gardenmentor´s last blog ..Free Ticket to the 2010 Northwest Flower and Garden Show =-.
Oh, it’s simply beautiful.~~Dee
January 27th, 2010 at 11:12 am.-= Dee/reddirtramblings´s last blog ..Kitchen Gardener magazine arrives! =-.
I wish our stupid HOA would let us do this instead of a lawn. Ugh.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:20 am.-= melissa´s last blog ..deep sleep and lazy soup =-.
Emily–Ashley and Chris didn’t mention any veggie stealing. Most of their vegetables are in the yard, not right on the sidewalk. They did say that once they put their garden in they met a lot more of their neighbors!
Gardenmentor–That’s cool that you got to see the “before” and “after”!
Dee–I agree! Makes me want to take out my little front lawn.
Melissa–Oh man, I don’t envy you have an HOA. They always seem to have the lamest rules. No vegetables in the front yard. No clotheslines. No chickens. They may as well add No Fun to the list.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:59 amWow, that is beautiful and so inspiring. And they did it in ONE weekend—that would take me months! Great job.
January 27th, 2010 at 12:07 pmthe dream!! maybe one day when we’re no longer renting. i’ve already ripped out more of the landlord’s front lawn than i had permission to…
this is absolutely beautiful.
January 27th, 2010 at 12:58 pm.-= angela´s last blog ..it’s not fancy, but it is meatball soup. =-.
Awesome! What a fabulous example of a beautiful edible landscape!
January 27th, 2010 at 4:22 pmLOVE this garden, Willi!
January 27th, 2010 at 5:31 pmWhat could be better than taking the lawn space and turning it into something super-beautiful and incredibly useful? And check it out in DECEMBER! So great!
They put such good thought into the structure of the space – that advance planning is going to serve them so well in the future. Who wouldn’t want this garden!
Front Yard Revolution NOW!!!
XOXOIvette!
.-= Germi´s last blog ..The Extravaganza Begins… =-.
That is gorgeous. Smart and beautiful – a winning combination. I look forward to seeing their website when it’s finished. Clearly, they know cool.
January 27th, 2010 at 5:55 pmAnne–They did do most of the work in one weekend…a four day weekend, but still I agree. It was an amazing transformation (these photos were taken a year later, btw).
Angela–Show you landlord these pictures maybe she’ll let you rip out the rest of the lawn!
Justine–Your garden is right up there with this one.
Germi–I think that the pathways and beds really make this garden. The plants are like pretty clothes!
Kerry–The Saleebas promised to share more photos of their raised beds. I can vouch that they are really cool, I got to see the designs in December.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:09 pm.-= Willi´s last blog ..An Edible Front Yard =-.
Anne–They did do most of the work in one weekend…a four day weekend, but still I agree. It was an amazing transformation (these photos were taken a year later, btw).
Angela–Show you landlord these pictures maybe she’ll let you rip out the rest of the lawn!
Justine–Your garden is right up there with this one.
Germi–I think that the pathways and beds really make this garden. The plants are like pretty clothes!
Kerry–The Saleebas promised to share more photos of their raised beds. I can vouch that they are really cool, I got to see the designs in December.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:10 pmHi everyone, Thanks so much for all the great feedback! We’re incredibly honored to have our garden featured here. Thank you, Willi!
January 28th, 2010 at 10:03 amOne quick point of clarification: we didn’t actually do this whole project in one weekend! We spent several weeks designing, planning, and working on the infrastructure (porch, sod removal, trellis installation, walkway) and then planted over the July 4th weekend.
Love, love, love it! I’ve been slowing pulling plants from my yard (front and back) and replacing them with edibles. We have a small gardening space so the more I can squeeze in the better! I’m trying to figure out how I can get some citrus trees in. I always worry about them freezing in the winter though
January 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am.-= Chassie´s last blog ..Hail Belgium! Long Live the Sprout! =-.
What a lovely, inspiring yard! Thanks for sharing.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:30 pmit’s my dream to do this in our front yard!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm.-= Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.´s last blog ..Hunger challenge 2010 – Hungry, not only for food =-.
Chris and Ashley’s yard was on the GroundswellNW/SustainableBallard edible garden tour last spring. We are hoping that many of our Ballard neighbors will be inspired to take out their lawns and grow food.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:44 am“When times are hard, Eat your yard!”
[...] architect Chris Saleeba of Fresh Digs (I did a sneak peek of Chris and his wife Ashley’s front yard vegetable garden in 2010). Almost all of the work, which included lots of digging, leveling, and rock hauling, was [...]
August 9th, 2011 at 3:40 pmWe’ve had a garden in our front yard for the last three seasons, and it’s been terrific. Actually the tomatoes didn’t do as well as we would have like for the last two years because there wasn’t as much sun as they’d like, but that’s the Bay Area. Never had a problem with folks stealing vegetables, but we often give them away to people who show an interest. Neighborhood kids are welcome to pick strawberries when they walk by. It’s been a huge success and very well supported by the neighborhood (many of whom have started their own gardens). I’d show pictures, but don’t know how to attach them.
September 6th, 2011 at 8:52 pmDan–I am always SO glad to hear that people are growing food in their front yards. Kudos to giving away strawberries to kids. I guarantee they will remember you when they grow up
September 12th, 2011 at 5:42 pm