Front garden allotment

Most people where I live grow some type of fruit or veg at the front. We’ve only got a few feet of paved area before the pavement , so people use planters. My neighbour opposite in the ground floor flat grows tomatoes, courgettes and peas as a minimum.

Iv got a greenhouse and raised. Veg beds in my front garden. Go for it ! 🥦🥕🌶️

Well you already know one person who isn't going to like it then.

Generally I think that people that take pride in their houses like things to be similar and ordered, so if you have 10 houses all with similar gardens and one that looks different then yes there are probably going to be people who are not so happy with that, and once you get a sizable group of people together then there is pretty much a guarantee that one of that group is going to find it an eyesore.

But at the end of the day it is your garden to do what you want with (covenants accepted), so if you don't care what other people think go ahead.

Just as you are allowed to do what you like though, doesn't mean everyone else should be forced to like it.

What they can actually do about it is another issue.

I can't believe that I haven't ever thought of doing this! I have a drive with a largish curved bed to one side that would be so perfect for herbs and veggies. Plenty of keen gardeners in my area so lots of opportunities for swaps , advice and chitchat😄
Just the right time for planning too, thanks OP!

I’d consider air quality if you face onto a busy road - much as I’d never berry pick from a BlackBerry hedge on a busy road.

aside from that, my main concern would be that I like to pick from my kitchen garden to have breakfast - fresh berries and leaves straight into breakfast…And wouldn’t like to be out the front in my summer pjs

Sorry I keep on thinking in spurts, Swiss chard can go in borders especially the brights variety, beetroot and fennel has pretty foliage and less likely to be nicked.

I would only plant unpopular veg, sprouts, cabbage and suchlike at the front otherwise things like beans or peas will probably be stolen. You don't want to be the neighbourhood free pyo go to. Unless you have cctv then you can shame the thieving CF's on Facebook.

We grow veggies on the front. I’m careful with the choices, so flowering beans on metal obelisks and tumbling tomatoes on pretty hanging boxes. I have dealt fruit trees there too- the sunlight is better.

IMO it looks nicer than the gravelled-over ones with cars stuck on them. We also can’t have fences.

When we moved when I was a child my Dad planted potatoes in the front garden, he said they would break the soil up. We lived opposite a bus stop and my Mother used to check the bus time table because she didn't want people seeing her digging up spuds in a dress and Wellington boots.

I've got an end of terrace corner garden or in Estate Agent speak "a wrap around garden". I've got a scabby, uneven lawn which has one raised bed on it, the other beds are on the side part of the garden. This one raised bed looks lost but I plan on more.

If I had strange/awful/nasty or whatever neighbours I wouldn't give two hoots what they thought and they wouldn't get free fresh veg either.

What would be the point of that?

Unless you live next door to Margo and Jerry, it is no-one's business other than yours.
Just tell them you are digging for victory. Once they've had a carrot or two from you, neighbours will be fine!

Your front garden, your choices yes they probably won’t like it but tough.

There are some lovely designs for veg patch gardens!

I'd only be annoyed if a neighbours garden was a mess. What is grown wouldn't bother me.

It's actually a good idea.

Although maybe start with a patch rather than removing the whole lawn. It's quite a lot of work growing veg. You might not enjoy it.

The only downside I see is when you are out the front tending to everything that you'll be subjected to talking to your neighbours 😄 🤣 otherwise, great idea!!

Personally I'd love it.

Most front gardens are either a scrap of lawn with a small border or have been turned into parking spaces.
Curtain twitchers who think their street should remain unchanged for decades need to get a life in my opinion.

Exactly my thoughts.
Plus, do you have an outside tap at the front for watering? You will not want to carry drippy watering cans through the house.

Is that you Felicity Kendal?

Why is veg 'unsightly'? Why should OP give two hoots about making other people's property more difficult to sell?

It was traditional, OP, to grow veg and flowers together in a cottage garden. Some veg, like runner beans, produce very pretty flowers and were once grown solely for the flower. You can find out which flowers repel veg-eating insects and plant accordingly. You can plant tall flowers to hide the veg (from birds, not neighbours) but be careful that children don't confuse edibles with inedibles, with serious results.

Who knows, if the cost of living rises much more your neighbours might be following suit.

I visited Vancouver in Canada some years back and many of the front gardens - even really tiny ones - were beautifully tended veg patches. Some people had even taken over the grass verges outside their properties.

Check the covenants carefully!

This would be a good point to start at.
A new area of houses built where a sibling lived had a covenant that all gardens had to stay open plan and of grass only.

If there's no covenant I think growing fruit and veg in raised beds or at ground level in a front garden is fine.

I wonder if some people will think it's going to be like some allotments with old plastic/metal containers for holding water and plastic sheeting covering the beds.

I would! Especially if you include flowers and it's attractive (eg no old tyres, random tarps flapping around, misc plastic containers that have seen better days...)

A well-kept allotment is a beautiful thing!

Go for it! TBH if my front garden wasn’t so shaded I might consider this too - it’s a tiny patio (Victorian terrace) so I’d have to use pots but no one would see because of the wall. This article has some ideas that might be useful:

https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/front-yard-vegetable-garden-ideas

Start with one bed, it should be no wider than you can reach to the middle without stepping on it, as long as you like. You will need somewhere to make compost so get nice looking ones or hide them with a bit of trellis, make sure they have lids so that no one can complain about smells or vermin. Grow stuff that you really like to eat. We have strawberries and raspberries, there is nothing better than walking down the garden and picking the fruit for your breakfast. And salad crops too,they grow really fast. I shall have a years worth of garlic from 2 Tesco bulbs this year and plan to grow a years worth of beetroot to pickle. Runner and French beans are easy and also pretty. There are loads of Facebook groups for allotment growers and most people are happy to share their knowledge. Good luck

People who put that naff plastic grass and stupid plastic obelisks in their front gardens don't seem to go about asking the neighbours if they mind. Growing veg in the front garden is an excellent idea, although there is always a risk of people helping themselves to it, sadly.