For all the homeowners who desire a beautiful, producing garden,
here is your "handbook!"
Ivette Soler walks you through front-yard gardening from the planning stage to the visually appealing, productive front yard.
Here is a picture of my 4 x 8 square-foot "front yard" garden.
I have a lot of room to make a complete Edible Front Yard!
In The Edible Front Yard, Ivette Soler shows you how to "rip" out your current front yard, and replant it using vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and ornamental beauties to make your it the envy of the neighborhood. Are you ready to be the first in your area to be a non-conformist from the well-manicured grass-filled front yard?
From the first page to the last, Ivette describes how to plan, build, plant, maintain, and harvest your front garden. She describes different plants, including a 'How to Grow' and 'How to Use' section for each. This is followed by learning the different ways plants grow and how to set-up your areas which will be most pleasing for the best curb appeal possible. She uses the same techniques that landscape architects employ, but with vegetables, including repetition of plants, importance of structure, form, and texture.
By following the detailed plans from the book, my plain front yard could look like this...
or this...
or possibly this...
The author, Ivette Soler, resides in Los Angeles, CA. She utilizes her background of plant design work for Elysian Landscapes, and her own personal garden, and has put together a very-detailed how-to book for front yard gardening. As you read through this book and incorporate different ideas at your home, keep in mind that her background is in California. Always check the hardiness zones on the plants you wish to use!
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I had difficulty visualizing my front yard as I read through her book. There were so many details that I got lost from chapter to chapter. This is definitely a book that you continually reference. Also, I read this on a black-and-white Nook. This must be read on a color reader or in actual book form. The pictures are amazing and need to be experienced in full-color.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of The Edible Front Yard from Timber Press Publisher for my honest review.
Blessings,
Ellen
What an interesting sounding book! I have long aspired to put in a small garden (I am a total flower addict and grow flowers from seed every spring, but I don't know diddly-squat about planting vegetables)... but I am rather intimidated by the idea of finding a suitable spot in which to put it. I don't know how much space plants take, or how much water they need... it just seems very overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteThis summer I tried to grow strawberry plants in those topsy-turvy hanging planter things. I spent fifty dollars on plants and another twenty on good soil, and I only got three anemic strawberries out of the whole lot. That was rather discouraging. LOL
Of course, I imagine that if strawberries actually wanted to grow hanging from trees, then they would!
Anyway, I'm a new follower from the Wednesday Window blog hop! You have a beautiful site... I am AMAZED that you read the Bible in 90 days. I have been doing one of those daily reading Bibles that gets you through it in a year, and I still get behind on it! Way to go!
It's nice to meet you--I hope you can drop by my site sometime! It's usually good for some laughs, and sometimes even a snort or two. Have a great week!
Smiles, Jenn @Misadventures in Motherhood