Report From An Opinionated Gardener – July 12
This is a copy of the letter I sent to Oak Park, MI City Planner Kevin Rulkowski, in response to his comment in The Detroit News “I don’t know of any community where I have seen a full garden in the front yard. In planning and zoning, we try and put things in appropriate places.”
Dear Mr. Rulkowski,
I’m writing to invite you to come to Cape Cod and see some beautiful front yard vegetable gardens. I’ve attached a photo that shows part of mine.
This matter goes beyond Julie Bass’s tiny garden and her wish to grow vegetables. It resonates with so many gardeners like myself who believe that the typical American lawn is a fashion that we can no longer afford. It’s important to remember that the stretch of turf and the line-up of the usual suspects known as foundation plantings is just that: a fashion. It’s time to acknowledge that this landscaping style is as outmoded as the bustle skirt and top hat.
Our vegetable garden is located between the front of the house and the street. And, gasp!, the garden shed is too. Sure, my yard is larger than Julie Bass's in Michigan, but the bottom line is that The New American Landscape offers alternatives...many of them edible.
