The opposite of guerilla gardening

[grenfell]

I enjoyed the guerilla gardening thread and it's something I may very well give a go. Now generally I'd follow the grey man rule and try not to stick out but a few things have made me think about gardening on the front of the house. I have a large vegatable plot, fruit trees and greenhouse at the rear of my home but have been thinking more about the front garden now. Ok so at the moment I have herbs and an almond tree in the front but have wondered about growing say potatoes on what is at the moment a small lawn. I could probably get 30-40 plants on the space but of course they would look like potatoes unlike the herbs which many would think are weeds and the almond which is " just a tree".Would I be setting myself up?
A customer of mine has told me her husband has done it in the past but it's very rare to see it. I was also watching an episode of the Good Life where there are veggies in the front garden and someone keeps pinching his leeks. I don't think there's any laws against it ( although I have seen a report of a city in Canada banning or at least restricting people growing veg on their front gardens) , it just seems a sort of social niceness that front gardens have lawns and flower beds but it just seems to me that a huge amount of land is being wasted that could be feeding us.
Does anyone here use their front gardens to grow food? Or recomendations , comments or whatever even if it's only to say it's a bloody stupid idea?

[unsure]

i think growing in the front could be a good idea , if for no other reason that it would distract attention from what you have going on around the back . i would expect them to be stolen at some point .

[tigs]

or it could lead to people thinking if that's what they have in the front what do they have in the back?

[moocher]

or it could lead to people thinking if that's what they have in the front what do they have in the back?

Or inside?

[grenfell]

or it could lead to people thinking if that's what they have in the front what do they have in the back?

Or inside?

Yeah , that was one thing on my mind hence whilist at the moment I have stuff that isn't recogniseable by some people. I'll admit my front garden and to a lesser extent the rear one too aren't what you'd call model gardens , they are " untidy " shall we say. On the front is an old van that hasn't moved for years , odds and sods of building materials and other junk. In fact I was reported to the council at one point who asked me to clear away the "open storage of wood and bags" so I did wonder if having potatoes on the front would even make us look poorer than others. Problem is I suppose things mean different things from one person to another. One caller who came to collect an ebay sale called it an aladdins cave but from the council letter someone else viewed it as an eyesore.
I probably will give it a go , as I say I have herbs on there already and early this year put two plastic compost bins there too just to judge reactions.This country could go a long way towards food security if gardens were cultivated not that I should moan too much as I make a living keeping peoples lawns mowed and gardens pretty

[jansman]

In parts of Lincolnshire, the front garden is where you grow your veg and hang the washing. Some years ago, when I still lived with my parents, our next door neighbour was told to clean up his front garden by the council. Now it was a little overgrown, but he was a ninety odd world war one veteran! The irony was his next door neighbours garden looked like a scrapyard!
So Mr Mee dug that front garden and planted spuds in nice neat rows. Up yours! Said he.

In his books,Ragnar Benson says many folks would not know a potato plant if it jumped out at them. I think he may be right.

[junmist]

old estate I'd go for it I known a few old guys that have had the veg in the front of the house as the back belonged to the Mrs. New estate are a bit more finicky so I'd ask the neighbours if they would mind having nice neat veg or a messy garden (good idea that to pursued them to the veg). If you are worried about it being nicked how about more nut trees or fruit bushes.

[unsure]

or it could lead to people thinking if that's what they have in the front what do they have in the back?

thats true enough .

[Arzosah]

Or you could have structural plants that are actually edible, even if people don't think about them, and sheltering behind them, you could have small plants that are much less noticeable - sorrel, for instance, isn't terribly noticeable, especially if hidden from the pavement by a fuschia, say (and fuschia flowers are edible). Radishes - frankly, I don't know what their tops look like, and I bet lots of people don't. Less common plants - we talk about Jerusalem artichokes for guerrilla planting, why not put some in your garden? I'm researching trees at the moment, but you could hunt for smaller, garden type shrubs that have edible leaves?

HTH.

[grenfell]

There isn't really room for another tree but your suggestion of sorrel is one I've already done, it's present and of course a perennial so it' a case of plant pick and forget. Similiarly I've got good king ]henry which is grown along the same sort of lines.The jerusalem artichokes are something that I want to try out so that is a good suggestion.
The house and surrounding houses all date from about 1870 to 1960 with ours being from the twenties so no problems associated with new estates.
As far as thefts are concerned I'm thinking either less recognisable plants or at least things that need digging up rather than say easy to lift stuff like the leeks stolen in the Good Life.
Oh and I've tried fuschia flowers and yes they are edible but I can't say I'm exactly keen on them.