Remember my interview with Orlando’s “illegal” front-yard gardeners?
AIMGiftbearer commented below this video yesterday:
“All such ordinances should be done away with. “Appearance” should never trump function, and “property value is not something that should be legislated. People should be free to grow what they want on their own property. If somebody else doesn’t like a neighbor’s yard then they just shouldn’t look at it. It’s none of their business! If they don’t like it then tough tomatoes! When push comes to shove food comes first and everyone has the right to feed themselves and their family. Food prices keep going up and salaries aren’t, so one’s gotta to do what one’s gotta do. I say if someone can grow much or all of their own food then more power to them! And really if you look deeper this is not coming from “the government” per se although they are the ones enforcing this BS law, but what’s really behind it is special interests that represent mega food production; big corporations that want to be food monopolies. They are the same corporations that have put many small mom and pop local farmers out of business. Such predatory companies want everyone to get their food only from THEIR multi-billion dollar businesses. The government’s part in this is that they are too lenient in not limiting corporate over-reach and in so doing they fail to protect the “little guy” from abusive big business practices and their self-serving agendas. It all comes down to profit over individual rights, and individuals just trying to feed themselves and their families are getting stepped on here. Aesthetics is often the stated reason for such ordinances, but in reality it’s just an excuse to place the rights of the food monopolies over that of the citizen. This cover reason does not hold water. It’s utterly transparent and total BS! There are so many better ways tax money could be spent instead of paying ridiculous “yard police” to go and micromanage people’s front yards and tying up the court system with frivolous trumped up charges against citizens who are just living their lives in “pursuit of happiness. This form of harrassment really is a violation of Constitutional property rights and it should be the position of County, State, and Federal Government to take a universal hands-off approach when certain busybodies complain about the “look” of a sustainable garden. Maybe instead of encouraging this sort of nitpicky, catty behavior, those agencies who are receiving such calls should just tell the griping person to be more tolerant and that they can only control land that they own; not everyone else’s. If one person here and there is so stressed out by what someone else chooses to plant then the problem really rests with that person who is “bothered” by it, not the planter. Personal preferences should not be a mandate for another to pull up and dismantle their garden crops, wasting good, healthy food. Individuals growing their own food IN NO WAY infringe upon Monsanto or any of the big box chain grocery grocery stores’ rights, nor the rights of other citizens living in the vicinity. They are still free to do what they want with the land they own. There are however legitimate laws on the books against monopolies! I hope that this couple’s attorney will make use of those statutes in court.”
I tend to agree. There does seem to be a push towards centralization of control in the hands of corporations and bureaucrats.
Planting a front-yard garden in some areas is now a revolutionary act.
Viva la revolution!
10 responses to “Front-yard Gardens are a Revolutionary Act”
The other day I created 2 rather large beds in my front yard beside my driveway, bermuda grass took over and the only thing I could think of was to dig it up and bury that crap as deep as I could, I can’t stand the thought of throwing it away and losing all the goodness it has stored. Anywho, I planted borage, eggplant, various watermelons, various legumes,ect. My wife was very displeased, she does not think veggies belong in the front because “you eat them”?????? I was not amused with my wife’s ignorance, but in her defense, this is common thought ( not to be confused with common sense). I asked, ” What problem do you have with Indian Hawthorn?” Her reply, nothing it is green, has a nice, little white flower, and pretty, little berry.” To that, in true Danny fashion lamented,” then why can’t I plant blueberries, it has all that and it’s edible. Still, no change in thought. I explained a lot veggies and fruit (for the most part) are green, produce a flower, and then fruit/veg appears. No dice. So I am encouraged when I find out other people beat their head against a wall when dealing with this illogical thinking. P.S. Upon listening to the kvetching about veg in the front yard, I promptly planted more. I stayed in trouble growing up, and it isn’t gonna change now. Fight the resistance, and plant hard.
Also, wait until the seminole pumpkin starts growing up the golden tree out front. ; )
Yes! I’ve grown front-yard blueberries. I used to have a little hedge of them.
For Bermuda grass, I put down two layers of cardboard over it and a foot of mulch. That killed it out in a year or so, but I still had to watch the edges where it tried to creep in again.
I have done that, but like you said it comes at every which angle. I, for the most part, just treat it as something I will just have to control. We will see if the new beds can remain mostly free of the devil’s grass.
I have to say, watching this sort of stuff from overseas, is eye-opening. The only reason our local government gets involved with what you plant in the front yard, or on the verge (which is Council – County in the US) property, is if it interferes with pedestrian traffic and driver visibility. Which is totally understandable, as a safety issue. If you manage it though, so it doesn’t become an issue, then it’s not an issue.
These overreaching legislations that go beyond public safety, are a waste of taxpayers money. Having said that, gardeners need to take responsibility for what they grow, and make sure it doesn’t get too jungle messy. It would be better to see a partnership between Council and Land Owners, with laws which reflect that relationship, rather than outright denial of rights altogether.
Yes, I agree. It’s sad.
Urban farming has come to Orlando’s front yards. Ever heard of Fleet Farming? Check out this NBC News report on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ginu4kJUxlQ
Yes indeed! I posted on this a few months ago: http://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/fleet-farming-orlando-great-idea/
Thank you. I like the idea a lot.
I am lucky that I live in a rural community. As long as your yard is kept fairly clean (i.e. no old junky cars laying around, or trash every where), then they leave you alone. But living in town has its limits as I do not have the room to grow as much as I want.
Hey – good work. That was fast. Good luck sprouting them. It’s fun and there’s a high success rate.