gardening in the front yard

If this gardening thing works and I have lots of sucess I was thinking of removing the front lawn and making raised beds in the front yard. It is on the north side of the house so only half of the yard gets full sun. does anyone here have their garden in the front yard? on the half of the yard that gets shade would I be able to plant like lettuce? I know I am getting ahead of myself but I like to think out loud. this would not happen till next year or the following year. thanks for all input

My entire SFG was in my front yard last year, and it, too, was on the north side of my house. We did just what you said--tore out the front lawn and put in beds. It worked out fine for the plants (even if the house blocked much of the morning sun), but my HOA ended up having a fit eventually.

Living in California, having some shade might just work to your advantage...if you don't have an HOA to contend with.

My garden is in the side yard I guess technically? Basically, it's the focal point of my house. The driveway and parking area is right next to it, and everyone comes to the side door next to it. Because of this location, I've spent extra money to make sure my garden area looks nice (the first season I spent about 600 bucks on a PVC decorative fence. After that expense, I'll never get my money back in in produce lol. That's the main thing to consider.

I can't speak to the shade, the reason my garden is in the front/side yard is because that is the best location for sun (my backyard is on the north side of the house and has many trees).

My garden is on the front side of my house. It can clearly be seen from the street and driveway. Not to mention the neighbor put in a nice patio next to it. It is in the only spot with enough sun. It also has a sandbox and a swing set. I put flowers near the neighbor. Others on the forum have called my garden a crayon box, because I have painted many of the boxes loud primary colors. I like it. Eventually I will post pictures. Enjoy having less grass to mow, I know I do. I have put my husband on notice that when our boys out grow playing in the yard the rest of the grass is an endangered species.

Patty in Yorktown

Patty, I too would like to paint some colors into my garden, I cannot wait for your pictures.

My husband is planning (at this early stage he is just talking, it may very well change) to "cement" a walkway through out the garden, in other words boxes and walkways. My concern is replacing boards, as I will be the one doing it. However I do like the idea of getting one of those garden scooters, (storage bin on wheels) and riding around on my bottom from box to box. If he does make walkways like he is talking I would like to get some concrete stain and have different colors all over the place with a huge supply of sidewalk chalk for my grandson. I am cautious about the heat down here with cement walkways though, wondering if that method would heat things up....

FV, I'd definitely be wary of cement between everything. I think the heat might be unbearable. I currently have a couple layers of cardboard with a thick layer of pecan shell mulch. It is very pretty, easy to walk on (although not barefoot, but you would never walk on concrete barefoot in our hot summers, either, lol) and has stayed put pretty well, even through frog stranglers, and I've got a pretty good slant to my walkways.

It is my FIRST year with this, though, but the pea gravel was not working for me. So far, so good, and it seems to be controlling weeds better than the weed cloth/pea gravel combo.

I have bark mulch down in the front yard. Grass only remains on a narrow strip of grass along the walk and a patch in front. The area around my front yard SFGs has landscaping fabric under it, while the border landscaping is just bark mulch.

I definitely like the look of the bark mulch and it is easy to walk on, barefoot. However, there are a few drawbacks:

* We (I, mostly) have to replenish it every year due to settling and rotting.
* Last year when we spread all the bark mulch on the landscaping fabric, it STANK TO HIGH HEAVEN for a while and I noticed that it attracted roly pollies (pillbugs) like crazy, and these became a mild pest to my veggies.

I was really surprised about the stink, considering we've been putting down bark mulch every year on the perimeter beds for ten years now. Did I not notice until now?? Hard to believe, but pee-yew. Maybe the difference was between adding a few inches each year on the side beds vs. putting down 3-4" over the landscaping cloth, I don't know.

But it's the pillbugs which have left me wondering what I should do in our backyard. That is already almost covered in landscaping cloth, so it needs something. I would really prefer to be able to go barefoot, but I can give that up. Primarily I would prefer something I can kneel on without too much work. Guess I may have to get a scrap of neoprene for that.

Odd Duck wrote:has stayed put pretty well, even through frog stranglers

Frog Stranglers?!?!!!! Say what, now?

Frog stranglers are rains so heavy, even the frogs can't survive it! I've picked up so many sayings since moving to TX. A couple of my other favorites: More slippery out than deer guts on a door knob. She could eat corn on the cob through a picket fence. I'm sure more will come to me, but those just cracked me up when I heard them.

Odd Duck, we could start a whole thread on those sayings, and another on "You know you're in TX when....." like you can drive with 2 fingers on the steering wheel. I've always heard slicker than owl stuff (change that last word).

I'm weary of the concrete for the heat reasons too, but too much mulch would be a haven for squash bugs here. I would kinda like gravel, but then again heat, and I would love to be barefoot out there, I mean if we were supposed to wear shoes we would have been born with them on. But at this stage, hubby is just thinking, I am hoping the common sense fairy will whisper in his ear and reveal to him pictures of wilting produce from the heat of the concrete. I do love him very much, but dealing with someone of a genius IQ can be a challenge.

this is my first season of trying gardening and I have put mulch down between all my boxes after putting weed block cloth down first and making sure it is not closer than 2 feet from any part of my house (I was told this because of the possibility of termites) a big plus was the mulch was free from the city recycling program

This is an old thread I ran across while seeking info on painting concrete retaining walls. Will laying concrete paths retain heat? A museum here in Phoenix actually has an exhibit from a long-term study about how the massive area of concrete expansion as the city has grown is increasing the temperatures in the downtown area.

Laurie Lou
Leaving HOA-infested Phoenix for the green grass of HOA-infested Sedona this month!