Edible Estates pits Thomas Jefferson against...Thomas Jefferson! It's the farm against the lawn, arguably the two most indelible landscape expression of Jeffersonian democracy.
Edible Estates proposes the replacement of the American lawn with a highly productive domestic edible landscape. Food grown in our front yards will connect us to the seasons, the organic cycles of the earth and our neighbors. The banal lifeless space of uniform grass in front of the house will be replaced with the chaotic abundance of bio-diversity. In becoming gardeners we will reconsider our connection to the land, what we take from it and what we put in it. Each yard will be a unique expression of its location and of the inhabitant and their desires. Valuable land will be put to work.
It's the heroic farmer vs. the consumerist suburban dweller, Thoreau vs. modernity. Who will come out victorious? Stay tuned.
POSTSCRIPT #1: For the second Edible Estate, Fritz Haeg chose a site owned by the Foti Family in Los Angeles. And then The New York Times came for a visit. (See comments for the full text.)
POSTSCRIPT #2: The Edible Estate now in book form.
Edible Estates