Front garden allotment

[Cityvillagegardener]

I'll try to keep this quick.

We live in a lovely close. Nice detached houses with very manicured, good sized and open front gardens. Lovely neighbours although one man is a little bit of a curtain twitcher/ doesn't like change.

I would like to replace my front lawn with a big veg growing area-but I'm concerned my neighbours will be pissed off that we have gone against the grain.

We are quite new to the close, big young family. Most other people have been here 30+ years.
Don't want to take up the back garden where the children play.

I want to show the kids where food comes from and it is a hobby I used to really enjoy before life got crazy with babies (we had an allotment before but now not that near any)

Would it be unreasonable to dig up my front lawn and grow veg? Our deed say we can't put up any high walls (hence the close is very open with sweeping lawns)

Aibu.

Go for it, Barbara 😃 I think veg gardens look beautiful. Grow some really big sunflowers, too.

Make sure you cat proof it or it will be the local cat toilet.

I only have a (large) front garden and I grow mostly fruit and vegetables. It looks lovely, and people often stop and look at it.

If for any reason it doesn't work out, then you can change it back. It's not like you're proposing to cover it in concrete!

Lovely idea!

Check the covenants carefully! My parents live in a 20 year old house that clearly states front lawns but be open, no fences or hedges, laid to lawn apart from modest beds close to the house and a maximum of 1 tree/bush. As it's only 20 years old the covenant owner could enforce and did step in 5 years ago when someone paved over, they were made to return to lawn (every house has a double garage plus 2 parking spaces already!)

We on the other hand removed our artificial lawn and planted wildflowers and grasses we cut once a year, nobody has batted an eyelid. But we are fully hedged in on both sides, quite different than if it was open

Ha ha ah, I thought of Barbra as well in The Good Life picking out her potatoes in full view of the street whilst Margo had a 'funny turn'.

I too would check your deeds. But otherwise its your garden

Anybody who disaproved would be very unreasonable, of course you have the right to grow food for yourself and your family.

My neighbours keep the rest of the street sweet by sending pickle and things occasionally at Christmas!

Like the idea but would hate the look of it.I'd definitely talk to your neighbours first.

I do this and I live in a small close where most people have neat and tidy fronts. For a start, one neighbour has tarmac'd their front and I don't see how cars are worse than veg.

I do have a small hedge that hides a lot of what I'm doing though!

My front garden is south-facing and my back garden is north facing, so by necessity I need to take advantage of the front to grow things.

There's not looooaaads in there, but I've got tayberries, yellow raspberries, rosemary, thyme, garlic chive, lavender. Got the idea after walking through another close where one elderly man has turned his whole front garden into a mini allotment. It's tidy enough and I think it looks nice.

Go for it OP! I love when people do this. I always think good for them. You could keep it neat with raised beds and possibly some lovely flowers closest to the road as a distraction. Or plant a low hedge? But yes, do it. 100%!

I’m puzzled by some of these responses.

It's your garden. Grow whatever you want.

If anybody complains that you’re messing up the look of the street, I’d tell them if they want their garden to look the same as yours they could also grow food.

expect to come home one day and your front garden, with fruit veg, salad stripped

Got to be better than tarmacing over like many people do.
I wouldn't care what someone else did with their lawn as long as it wasn't paved over or used to dump junk. I think this is something only rich people care about

Seriously? My neighbour has a thriving veg patch in her front garden and recently won silver in the local "In Bloom" awards.

They'll also learn about getting up in the morning/coming back from school to find that some fucker's turned up in a vehicle with secateurs to nick it all, unfortunately.

Do it in the back garden.

I think that "in bloom" incorporates flowers.

So not spuds and canes and rows of cabbages, then.

It wouldn't bother me at all if my neighbours did this (so long as they didn't try to waste my time and talk to me about their leeks), but I appreciate that a lot of people would not like it, so I wouldn't do it.

Unsightly veg? Off you pop, Margot Leadbetter.

It's your garden, to do with as you please. You aren't planning to use it as a rubbish dump.

Enjoy your veg patch. I hope it goes well. 🤗

It's a lovely idea, OP. As others have said, if you're worried about the aesthetic aspect then just interplant with companion flowers, have a flowering herb garden and a wigwam of sweet peas etc - all perfectly in keeping with veg growing!

I'm lucky enough to have an allotment nearby where I grow veg but if I didn't I would definitely be planting out my front garden with edibles as it's far larger than the paved courtyard space at the back of the house.

And, imo, 'unsightly veg' (wtaf?) is far, far preferable to artificial grass or those hideous plastic trellises / box balls etc. My dad lives on a 'neat and tidy' cul-de-sac and it's depressing to see the amount of fake crap people think is appropriate for an outside space.

Go for it!

Why not. I won't this year - pregnant - but since covid I've been keeping a veg patch. I do live on a farm so no one to complain.

But I don't think it needs to look bad. I do like the sound of planters. My ILs had a beautiful veg garden for years but had to get rid of it (age/ fitness)

Thanks for all the replies!
Some interesting and some really useful ones.

Same as pp. Our front garden is south facing so it would be hard in the back garden to grow stuff consistently.

I love to see people using their front gardens. I'm quite practical so I like things being used.
I certainly wouldn't leave it to rot and ruin.

I'm thinking a few raised beds, some fruit bushes/ trees. I do know one of my neighbours would be checking the covenant to ensure we are playing by the rules.

I do know one of my neighbours would be checking the covenant to ensure we are playing by the rules.

What a sad individual they must be, then. It's not as if you are planning to turn your front garden into Steptoe's Yard (since we're referencing 70s sitcoms 😆)

Do it!
I used to have a garden surrounded on three sides by pavements and grew vegetables along the boundaries. I used to love talking to people about what I was growing.

Go for it! But be careful with the fruit bushes. Just yesterday on another thread a frustrated poster reported her raspberries seemed to bear hardly any fruit in years but then caught her neighbour making off with a full bowl of them. She said she ended up ripping them all out 😥

Its a great idea. So much better than boring manicured lawns.
You never know, the older residents might remember 'Digging for Victory ' in WW2, when a lot of land was turned over a growing fruit and veg.