March 6th, 2009 · No Comments

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

It seems that the iconic American wide, grassy lawn, which has lately been encroached upon by rock beds and strips of native flowers designed to cut down on watering, is undergoing more surgery. It is now giving up real estate to another pursuit: Homeowners are claiming portions of their lawns for produce production.

Landscapers have noted the emergence of these small scale agricultural endeavors, with a new survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) finding that about 20 percent of residential landscape architects report they are replacing part or all of traditional grass lawns with food/vegetable gardens.

“Not only do you benefit from fresh produce, but these gardens offer lower maintenance time and utility costs compared to turf grass while substantially increasing the sustainability of a home,” said ASLA President Angela Dye in a news release. “Plus, there’s nothing more convenient or sustainable than home-grown food.”

Actually, it’s not so sustainable once it gets inside. Munchkins and others gobble it up.

Thinking of digging in? The ASLA advises that you “don’t spend a dime on mulch when you can reuse your leftover leaves from the fall” and suggests using nitrogen-rich grass clippings as a mulch and weed suppressant atop the veggie bed.

The trend tracks with earlier findings by the National Gardening Association that growing food is a growing enterprise.

For more info on sustainable garden design see the ASLA website.
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