Hunting for Inspiration

I see yards and landscapes differently now as I drive around.  Wide open lawns just seem like wasted spaces where neighborhoods could grow so much food!  And beautifully, too!  As much as I love my gardening books, I love seeing the way "real" people garden next door and down the street.  It inspires me to see what is possible, what can be grown successfully in my climate, how small and odd spaces can be used.  This weekend, I drove around to some points of inspiration in my neighborhood.

This entire carport is so beautiful! Proof that small and odd spaces can be transformed, giving people without gobs of land a way to grow food.

There wasn't much growing here at this point in the year, but the remnants are still inspiring. This twisty raised bed is in the middle of a typical Fort Worth front yard.

 My picture does not do this yard justice. This home is on our trick-or-treating path, and is the real-life yard-garden that finally made Evan a believer in beautiful, edible front-yard landscaping.

 

I have a lot of work ahead of me and a long way to go in re-imagining and re-purposing our yard into a productive, edible space.  My two current gardening book favorites are "Edible Landscaping" by Rosalind Creasy and "The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden" by Ivette Soler.  And I'll keep hunting for more local inspiration.