I feel this goes far beyond a simple “garden issue”. While we should all be able to grow our own food if we so choose, this situation sets precedence for our few remaining civil freedoms. There are no ordinances against what we are doing, and the City has decided to harass us for the last four months simply because a few petty elitists “don’t want this”. There are volumes of information on this site, and I wish I had the ability to condense it all in an unbiased manner. Please comment/share to show your support.
Ferguson, Missouri’s Code Enforcement is attempting to enforce opinions, rather than law. We have been told to remove an ordinance compliant garden from our front yard. The City has quoted six different irrelevant if not fraudulent ordinances against our endeavor, and we have refuted each one using their own laws to do so. The City has been inaccurate and misleading in numerous mailed documents, and holds the stance that personal opinion carries the same weight as written law. When we attempted to file charges for harassment at the Ferguson Police Department, we were laughed at and told to leave. It was said by the public relations officer that “this is a civil issue, not criminal”.
Why waste suitable growing space on grass? There is too much shade in the back yard from neighboring trees, and it’s lower elevation accumulates several other property’s runoff. There are no ordinances stating you can’t have edible landscaping in your front yard (for now). We simply did not back down when we were told to stop by misguided, self appointed authority. We are somehow stuck with the burden of proof, so this is our attempt to serve that purpose, and hopefully gain public support. There are no ordinances that regulate landscaping or gardens in Ferguson, other than a few for weeds and overgrowth (which specifically state that they do not apply to cultivated flowers, or vegetation in gardens), and those against right of way encroachment (trees/vegetation blocking roadways/sidewalks).
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Any unused donations will be given to the Freedom Center of Missouri.
VegetableYarden in Ferguson, Mo. 
Are you kidding me?! I live in the country with wide open space and still would rather have my garden in my front yard. It enhances a home and makes it appear inviting to those who enter, it also strikes up conversations in a good way. What is the difference between vegetables & flowers in your front yard? Are flowers okay to grow? Mystified as to the reasoning of disapproval!
NExt time ::HAve someone STEP in front of the vehicle and Tell the official to Identify himself with Official Identification– Tell him you are suspicious,, THey look like pedophiles passing by like that– I would protect my children by any means– This is very suspicious
I think your garden looks beautiful. And from what I understand, during WWII our government had a campaign promoting gardening as patriotic. You might see if anyone knows some specific information about that, might be something to bring up in your case.
Found this link to the Victory Garden campaign. With all the talk of a world food shortage, I don’t understand how what you are doing is not looked upon in a very favorable light. Hope this helps some.
http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ww2/ww18.html
The odd thing about that the world produces 150% of the food needs of the world. It is just mis-managed or people can’t afford to pay for it.
That or fat fucks are eating too much!
Right now I’m wearing a shirt that says, “Grow a Garden” “It’s Thrifty” “It’s Patriotic” “Plant Today” It’s an old poster turned into a shirt. I LOVE it. And this is insane, to tell you to remove your gorgeous garden!
Ah, my shirt is from an English ad:
http://www.museumofthecity.org/exhibit/londons-food-revolution/patriotic-gardens
My shirt has the picture and everything but the first line about saving money.
Where did you get your shirt I love that pic
I have a shirt that reads “Grow Your Own Food” with a shovel behind the text. It’s also from a British campaign during….WW…. to encourage folks to, well, grow their own. I bought mine on Etsy, and if you Google “Grow Your Own Food t-shirt”, I’m sure you’ll find it.
Sad to say that you are not alone. I hope that publicity helps. Perhaps some non-violent protest from other folks in your town could discourage the nastiness. To deal with this while you struggle with your health issues just adds insult to injury. we can just keep spreading the news.
Your garden is beautiful. Keep fighting! I’m behind you all the way.
You have valid reasons for it being in front, your are choosing to feed your family SAFE, clean food. It is beautiful, you should be proud and your city should be ashamed at their stupidity and narrow minded vanity. Keep up the good work and I will be sharing this and hope all my friends do the same, do not understand others thinking they have the right to decide what plants you can plant on your property when they are not illegal.
Beautiful Garden! I hope Ferguson figures out how stupid and in the wrong they are
This is such a well maintained garden and serves such an important purpose for this family. What law or code is being violated again? Aren’t there more important issues this city could be addressing? It seams like a huge waste of resources to create an issue of this. My neighborhood has a few front yards gardens of different varieties. I love the unique diversity of landscapes. It is always encouraging to have neighbors that spend that much time and energy improving their properties. What great examples for the rest of us. Their position is clearly the right one on many levels. I hope they continue their fight to…garden in their front yard. Cami Wynkoop
You have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness which no CITY government can interfere with. Stand your ground. Like minded, self sufficient people will support you!
SERIOUSLY?! It’s GORGEOUS! I wish my yard looked like that! I completely agree with everything above! It’s well kept and nicely laid out. Your not growing helter-skelter. What could possibly be an issue?!
When as a country we find government regulating what we can grow in our own yards, that is a time when we need a food revolution. Shame on them. If your front yard was unsightly, overgrown with weeds, that could be considered a blight on the neighborhood. To have a well maintained, beautiful garden that grows wholesome food, that should be a right to every homeowner. To quote Joel Salatin, “Folks, that ain’t right!”
[…] (typeof(addthis_share) == "undefined"){ addthis_share = [];}This blog popped up on my radar: VegetableYarden Don’t you love the invented word? Yarden: Yard Garden! […]
In this picture, it looks like you are keeping a neat and tidy garden. Just make sure that it stays that way and keep on fighting. I truly believe that there is an ulterior motive behind the push for regulations, etc. It’s harder to control those of us who are looking for health and not worried about conformity.
I’d be concerned with my kid falling in the gaping hole in the street! It’s far more dangerous to public safety than a vegetable garden. Pray for a lawyer to help you fight!
I too have a edible front yard and I live with in a neighborhood with home-owner-laws that pertain to my front yard only. I planted perennial beds and just heal-in my annual veggies around them. Of course some of my perennials are artichokes, horseradish and many herbs.
It looks really nice! Very tidy and well kept! The only suggestion I could add is to put out a few flowers! It might blend in more and many flowers are good to have in with youe vegies! If you put in spring bulbs then pollenators will be finding your yard from spring to fall. Marigolds and great to repel some pests and white flowers will repel cabbage moths…..
But the idea that there is anything WRONG with your yard is insane.
I have a flower border out front, and several wild flowers here and there. Also, pretty much every plant in the world “flowers”. 🙂 Thank you for the support.
I had an officer stop to talk to us because they village had “complaints” last year. My frontyard is a lot of wild flowers, herbs and a few food plants in a chaotic lay out sort of thing. Our goal is to eliminate all grass. The officer looked at all the plants and chuckled. He said they were not weeds and he had no footing to ask for them to be removed. I know the stress of being told that someone hates your yard and I hope they back down!
OMG !!! I can’t believe the council would do something like this to anyone >:/ let alone a dad who has a young family to support. Shame on the local council and all if its members !!!
This makes me so angry and very sad !! Would they rather you & your baby starve or have you go out doing a break& enter and stealing from other innocent people. Not only are giving your family the chance to live happily and healthily you’re reaching your son many valuable life lessons in tge process. Life’s hard enough without this kind of injustice happening around the world. I truly hope everything works out well for you Karl. You have my total support to have an edible front yard garden all the way from Australia. I wish you the best of luck in your fight for justice 😀
Sorry about the spelling my iPhone decided to make some of its own words up 😦
It isn’t council so much as Code Enforcement/Public Works. Thank you for the support.
So sorry that you are having to deal with ignorant bureaucracy. I think your garden is beautiful and a wonderful example of how to be a good steward of your resources. I will pray that common sense prevails and you are allowed to continue and maybe even encourage your neighbors to do the same!
Beautiful garden! I think front or back is the same – it’s so nice to share with your neighbours all the good work you are doing rather than just mowing and mowing and mowing and using all that gas and effort for nothing other than stopping grass from going to seed….Keep gardening!
They have lost touch with reality. What you are doing is great and it also looks beautiful.
I wish I was licensed in your state. I would love to fight them on this. Do not back down. Find a local official who is sympathetic to you and get a bill written to put it on the books that food can be grown in the front yard. Also donate some food to a local food bank / church program and get them on your side. Then the officials will look really crappy when the newspaper’s headline says “Local Food Bank Supporter Harassed By Officials For Growing Food”.
Your garden is awesome! Keep up the good work! Don’t let them win!
Amazing garden! Don’t let them intimidate you. Call it a Victory Garden against childhood obesity.
Hope you can find an attorney who will take this case on a pro-bono basis. That would be a huge help! Growing your own food is not a crime and if the ordinances aren’t being broken, the city officials should be charged with harassment. Gardeners all over the country are on your side. Stay strong! And happy gardening ~
Here’s an interesting link I ran into a while back. You might be able to connect with these people and they can give you some good insight with your issue.
http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/food-sovereignty-law-passed-in-small-maine-town-to-allow-sale-of-locally-produced-food-without-interference-of-regulators/
I briefly through the code for your city and could find nothing that even remotely gives them the right to tell you to remove your garden. Weeds can be no more than 7″ tall but the definition of a weed is “a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.”. Go to your local health food store and ask them to let you hang a flyer. Drum up support with anyone you can find that lives in your town and call the press. Government officials do not like to look like they are on the wrong side of ‘green’ Good Luck!
More and more places are trying to take away our right to grow our own food- it’s sickening! You stand your ground and GOOD LUCK TO YOU! That is a beautifully maintained garden right there, looks better than a lot of grass-yards I’ve seen!
Here’s a wonderful family to connect with.
Surrounded by urban sprawl and just a short distance from a freeway, the Urban Homestead project is a family operated and highly productive city farm. It is also a successful, real-life working model for sustainable agriculture and eco living in urban areas and has been featured in multiple news medias both nationally and internationally.
http://urbanhomestead.org/
I’ll look into both of the sites you posted Sheri. Thank you!
Take a look at the legal problems they’re causing a lot of people.
Yeah skip the Dervaes family site. They were looked up to until they shut down others in their zeal to trademark the terms urban homestead and urban homesteading. Farmers markets, bloggers, a library – all shut down on fb and threatened with cease and desist letters. There is a lawsuit against them on behalf of some authors. One book had been out two years. Also they have a weird circle-the-wagon mentality and responded to upset by the urban homestead comunity (which is about support and sharing) by lashing out in tweets and blaming others.
Actually it loks great but you shouldn’t have an edible garden close to the road as fumes and such get into your veggies/fruits. I was always told that edible plants hould be 50 ft. from a road. Keep advocating for your rights though.
I understand the pollution aspect, but we’re at the end of a dead end street with minimal traffic. Pollution is rampant everywhere in an urban environment. 50ft back would just put us 50ft closer to the street behind us.
I wouldn’t worry about lead. The warning regarded leaded gasoline before 1990 and within 50 feet of a busy highway. Know you have my support and best wishes. Go garden!
The pollution is not the problem people think it is. We live in a polluted world. When I lived in Denver, there were public gardens right next to the busy streets, and I guarantee the food was STILL better for you than the stuff they sold at the local supermarkets. Regular conventionally grown food is sprayed with pesticides and huge diesel powered machinery has been used for decades to harvest it. What does anyone think the soil is like in those kind of growing conditions, eh? 😉 I live on a street that has very little traffic, and I pick wild food literally right next to the road with no worries at all. We all have to work with what we have on hand. You’re doing fantastic, keep it up! 🙂
I am sick of this type of treatment. This is a garden that feeds your family. Why would someone stop you from growing that? I am outraged for you and I hope the best for you and your family…….I am with you do not back down they have no right to tell you that you cannot grow your own food even if it is in the front yard.
This is the letter I sent them! 🙂
Regarding the Ferguson City Council,
Whether or not you have been overloaded with e-mails regarding the garden of Karl Tricamo is a matter of time. If we could only hear our founding father’s opinions on how America is being “upheld” these days – they would be disgusted and outraged. As am I. The freedom to feed your own family is a basic right that no ‘city council’ should have a say in. This imposed ideal of having bright green and manicured lawns is not only toxic for our water systems but also our own health. If this is your personal preference, then let it remain that – your personal preference. That does not however give a council the right to impose their own preferences on a law-abiding citizen who simply wishes to feed his family. Perhaps if councils could get out of the mindset of “money and laws” and actually listen to the stories of why people are in the situation of struggling to provide, they might realize that there are more important things in life than lawn care ordinances. Seeing as Mr. Tricamo has not violated or broken any ordinances, your threats of jail time, property lien and fines are unconstitutional and likely a criminal offense. I hope that your council is able to see past this trivial dispute without the further action of a lawsuit against the city of Ferguson. May you never be in a situation like Mr. Tricamo – struggling to feed your own family. No one deserves that. Regards, -Samantha Harris (Michigan)-
Thank you for the letter and support- I do want to make it very clear though, that the City Council is not the cause of this situation. This is currently a battle with Code Enforcement. City Council is not doing anything against us at the moment. They are however considering writing a new ordinance to somehow regulate edibles in the front yard, which I do fear. Also, we have not been threatened with jail time. We have been told by Code Enforcement/Public Works to remove our cultivated plants, and threatened with fines, and a lien against the house. Upon such a lien, the City would abate the property and remove my garden of their own volition. Thanks again.
The City Council may not be the immediate cause of this situation, but they are ultimately responsible for the actions of city employees. The council members work for you, and they need to be held accountable for any misdeeds of their subordinates. Have you spoken at one of their meetings?
My fiance and I both spoke at the last council meeting. https://vegetableyarden.wordpress.com/statements/
the code enforcement works for the council. I used to be an inspector for Ferguson. Back then that council was very much in the business of getting involved in code enforcement. i would bet they still are. Most likely someone is complaining. You need to take this up with the council not the code enforcement dept. Those guys are just following orders from someone.
Thanks for “paving” the way so that others my follow. If Yardens popped up everywhere there was space, then maybe communities could garden together and share the labor and the food to help everyone.
I am shocked that anyone would object to the beauty this garden is offering ! I see this as Food for a family! Why on earth should anyone not be allowed to have a garden in their front yard? I find this to be so much more admiral than a yard that is not taken care of! I am all fro the garden! Total Support from me!
Your garden is lovely. This is silly as I don’t see what the issue is. Hope and pray it all passes.
I like it! My grandmother had what was called a War Garden! They planted gardens in the front of their homes! The people in the small subdivisions helped each other out and even shared food! My best friend had planted a huge garden too! Noe hers is in the back BUT that is because that is where the sun light is! If you keep it neat what is the problem? Why is it that we have to have grass in our yards? What about the people who ripped out their grass and makes their front yard into a rock garden? I have seen it and can get you pictures of that! So what is the difference? You paid taxes on that home and it looks nice and neat! I can understand the wanting of fresh food too! I have a son with chrone’s and a daughter with IBS! We have to be careful with what they eat! I live in a small town now too and I love going to the farmers for my fresh organic veggies and fruit my meat because the animals are grass feed! My step son has Autism and EBD (emotional behavior disorder) he also does better with the healthier food because they are not process with added stuff and sugars! And let’s be honest it is better all around for the family! I hope you win this fight and I will post this on my wall too!
If you ask me it is a pretty garden. Probably, neighbors are complaining because they won’t be sharing. I think it is stupid for the city or county to try and stop them. The burden of proof is for the city or county to show them where it is illegal to grow vegetation in their yard. I grew collards in my flower garden for years and no one complained about it.
The following message was left in reply to a comment I made on another site. http://frijolitofarm.com/2012/06/tulsa-destroys-womans-garden/#comment-433 It pertains to the woman in Tulsa that had her edible garden destroyed this last week. I wanted it to share it here.
Karl Tricamo
June 17, 2012 at 8:48 pm · Reply
I am facing a similar situation, though mine has dragged on for months. I can’t believe how quickly they chose to destroy her property. My heart literally pains me when I hear her talk. This sets a grave precedence for America, and we must all act to preserve what few freedoms we have left. Please take a look at http://www.vegetableyarden.wordpress.com to support our own situation. I hope we don’t meet the same fate.
wayne
June 17, 2012 at 11:34 pm · Reply
Having looked at your site, I can’t express to you how much I feel for what your family is going through. In my view, it’s a very simple matter. What does the city claim the public interest is in preventing you from having a garden, and what is your interest in having one? Weigh the answers to those two questions against one another.
On the one hand, it’s an argument about whether you have the right to grow food for your family’s consumption on land you control. You have a compelling reason to want to do so, and so far, they have not offered a compelling argument as to why you shouldn’t. “Eyesores” and whatever aside, they have not sufficiently refuted your interest in feeding your family well. Let’s hear them try. Let’s hear one municipal busybody in the whole damned country argue that no, people are not, in fact, better off eating homegrown food, and that the public interest is better served by forcing everyone to procure their sustenance solely by shopping at grocery stores. Let’s hear ‘em try it. They have nothing on this point. The best they can do is to change the subject.
On the other hand, it’s a disagreement over issues of style and taste in landscaping. The black dress or the red one? The grass or the vegetables? Chicken or fish? Rap or country? There’s no accounting for taste, and there shouldn’t be any attempt to legislate it either, as nothing based purely on subjective ideas of taste can be defended. They can say grass is prettier, and you can say that veggies are. You’re both right and you’re both wrong, depending on who’s listening. This argument is baseless, and thus useless. It should be of no concern to any court of law. The law requires something more substantive. If they can tell you not to grow corn and tomatoes because these plants are ugly, they can just as easily tell someone else they must grow boxwood instead of forsythia, or bluegrass instead of rye.
Now weigh these concerns against each other: Your irrefutable interest in feeding your child healthy food versus their indefensible claims about the aesthetics of landscaping fashions on private property that does not belong to them. These people need to be dragged into court and shamed with their own failure at logic.
I’m no good at following my own advice, and I don’t want to make assumptions about your financial means, but if it’s at all within your power to do so, go on the offensive. Sue. Get an injunction from a court ordering code enforcement to cease and desist action against your legally planted vegetable garden. And don’t look to the police for help if you need to press criminal charges. Go straight to the prosecutor for that.
Keep on doing what your doing…
Have you thought about starting a change.org petition? I am sure you could get it well circulated and signed. that way the powers that be will see that you are supported across the country!
Love and support to you… i wish you all wisdom and strength in cutting through the BS of the Code Enforcers… may you have a rallying of allies to stand with you in Ferguson, alongside all of us in the virtual realm who are rooting for you!
I love your garden! I wish I could do that to my front yard, but it’s a hill sloping towards the house. Keep up the fight, if everyone had gardens think how much healthier this country could be!
So sorry! We lived in a small town in MO and found their code enforcement to be overly zealous and that was one of the main reasons we’re now living out in the country in Texas. Good luck to you.
Wow. Why waste good growing space with grass???!!!! I think the yard looks great!
What a wonderful garden and an amazing endeavor. Good luck on fighting the good fight. I think the code enforcers are just upset you are making your neighbors dry, patchy, weedy lawns look even worse. 🙂
I live in a subdivision that doesn’t allow residents to have rain barrels visible from the street, despite the drought and watering restrictions yet issues “warnings” for “unsightly, dry grass.” Ridiculous, yet by buying property here I agreed to the covenants of the homeowners association therefore, I have no fight.
I hope you continue on and your harvest is a bountiful blessing to your family.
I agree with a previous poster, you should start a petition on change.org. Maybe when your town sees the publicity it gets by being so hardnosed they will back off.
Your garden is so beautiful! I wish I could do this in my front yard but I have all shade due to the trees. I had to settle for a 4 x 4 box in the back. I am standing right there next to you through this…shame on the city. I agree with one of the above posters: start an online petition on change.org I will DEFINITELY sign it!! Don’t give up…
I hope things work out okay for you! I’d much rather see people with gardens than lawns any day.
How silly! What on earth would.anyone have against a garden? Toxic chemicals are fine, but organic basil must be cracked down on? I bet you just have a tightened up neighbor who is complaining. Keep on with your life and your garden. So sorry you have to deal with ignorance and control freaks. Enjoy your yummies.
Keep on truckin’!
I don’t get this, how can anyone have any say on what you do with your land? its not like you are growing drugs, its your right to live how you please, this does not effect anyone else. If we cant do what we want on our own land, what human rights do we have left?
What I think regular good folks fail to realize and identify, is that the people enforcing this kind of nonsense are not logical, rational, people. They are pushing an agenda, or are petty tyrants wrapped up in their own power trip. They aren’t doing this for the ‘good’ of anyone or any thing. As such, they must be resisted most vigorously, and the more exposure these kinds of things get in the public eye, the better!
Could you join the council and/or get friendly with the council members?
I’m going to pass this along on my blog and via Twitter. This kind of bullying can’t be allowed. Good luck to you. I hope good food and common sense prevail.
They have no right to make you take it away. not only is what your doing better for the ecology, community, water usage, etc., BUT ITS YOUR RIGHT TO DO SO. What can they do to stop you? They cant tear it up, if they do you can sue them for a bundle. They may try to fine you in which case you can simply not pay, if they try to take it to collections, simply inform the three credit bureaus that they were charging you illegally and that any report they may file about you not having paid is in fact a fraudulent claim. P.S. speak with a lawyer about this.
What a wonderful use of your space, water and time! Providing fresh local healthy food for your self and your family AND having a beautiful flourishing yard. I would keep it and applaud you for reaching for public support !
You’re kidding me??? It’s called an urban garden for a reason. I’ve seen many homes use their front & back yards at the same time…
Beautiful garden, you should be the example of good things to do with a yard.
There are no words to truly express just how much this ticks me off! Sounds like Ferguson is full of bullies and I just don’t think there is anything they can legally do to make you tear down that garden. I am usually one to try to settle things peaceably but I’d be damned if I would allow those morons to even step foot on my property.I give you major kudos for trying to do what is best for your family. Don’t let anyone intimidate you to do otherwise!
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS! SAY…. HELL NO TO GMO’S
Your garden looks very nice! It’s tastefully done, you don’t appear to be harboring loads of venomous wildlife or dangerous animals in there, and I doubt you’re spraying tons of harmful pesticides that could endanger neighborhood pets and children. Sounds like your neighbors are pissed you’re not doing things THEIR WAY- who knows what they’re thinking. They’re crazy. Keep fighting for your rights to clean and safe food.
Ferguson, MO is surrounded by Monsanto offices including the world headquarters which is about 10 miles away. Perhaps Monsanto sent a message to a friend in Code Enforcement – Public Works to harass residential gardeners like yourself. Your garden might be small compared to a farmers field, but you are providing a public example of how people can break free from the rules of Big Ag. The accusations that your corn plants are “hazardous” and that you will lose your house if don’t pay the fines sound similar to the intimidation tactics used on farmers who refuse to grow GMO products.
Actually you are right. It sounds exactly like Monsanto. That is their M.O.
Awesome garden – unfortunately if everyone was as cool as you and planted their own gardens and grew their own vegetables the industrial agricultural industry wouldn’t be nearly as profitable now would it. Hence they attempt to quash the real food revolution at every turn so that it cannot sow seeds in the culture and psyche of the zombie consumer nation. Your garden represents a threat, not because of the particular food it produces but because of the ideas and culture shifts such gardens could promote. Those ideas are dangerous and even revolutionary to a the industrial food producers and they will fight such movements at every turn. They also have the power of the state on their hands to draft and enforce laws aimed at preventing people from growing their own food.
Seriously, unbelievably short-sighted and ridiculous! I may not be able to do anything but voice my support for you here, perhaps send them an email, but please know, you have my support. Best regards,
~Marcela.
Has it really fallen to this. No one has a right to control what you landscape your yard with as long as it it well kept. Try contacting one of the HGTV garden shows. Isn’t there a garden on the White House lawn? Yes there is…
Keep up the fight for clean food and sustainability.
Ann
Hi there! So sorry to hear of your troubles. My landlord just powerwashed my house and nearly destroyed my entire vegetable garden today….do you guys have a petition started? Maybe that would be a good idea, you’d have my signature!
Is the picture photoshopped? JK-the garden is just so wonderfully kept! And to me the beautifully arranged garden in the front yard is so much more eye appealing than grass!! Take your story to the press, and tell the city to back off or pay for sustainable local healthy organic food for your family and that you are an American doing your part to keep your family healthy! Fight on!!
I could see a problem if Karl’s front yard garden looked like a jungle. But it doesn’t. In fact I am going to take a portion of my front yard (before and after pictures) and make it an edible garden. I will sign it “The Karl Tricamo Honorary Garden”. Anybody with me to do the same? We need these gardens and signs going up all over the country.
🙂
http://www.newson6.com/story/18802728/woman-sues-city-of-tulsa-for-cutting-down-her-edible-garden
That is so sad what happened to her. They even cut down her fruit trees what were they thinking. I would rather look at someone’s front yard that has veggies growing in it then look at weedy, overgrown neglected yards that no one pays attention to.
What were the irrelevant ordinances they told you?
Your garden is great, good on you and keep fighting. (Is it possible that if you did some companion planting with some calendula and tansy etc they might back off a bit? You know, maybe if it looked a tiny bit more gardenish they might pull their heads in? They shouldn’t be griping in the first place, they have no right to, but you know, every little bit helps.)
Here is the cover photo I made for facebook.
I encourage folks to download, copy, share!
I thought the US was supposed to be the ‘land of the free’!
I have never heard of such nonsense in the UK. Keep fighting for your garden and good luck.
[…] Americans being prevented from growing herbs, vegetables and fruits in their front gardens: one in Ferguson Missouri and one in Tulsa Oklahoma. In a country where residents have a right to bear arms, they appear not […]
I am astonished and appalled. I thought Americans were so proud of their freedoms and rights. Just grass, really? WHY? Gardens like yours are loved and encouraged here in the UK. http://www.fennelandfern.co.uk/blog/2012/05/03/vertical-gardening/
http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/projects
and in America too:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/11/detroit-urban-renewal-city-farms-paul-harris
You are an inspiration.I hope you are able to get recompense for what they did to you. All power to you.
I can’t imagine Michelle Obama approving of all this stupid rules on where an edible plant may grow and where it may not. She didn’t start a vegetable garden at the White House for nothing, did she? Lots of Americans and their children don’t know a potato from a pear. Now THAT’s a shame! How can you be healthy and don’t know where your vitamins come from? The rising costs of healthcare are already a big problem in the States (and in Europe as well).
Greetings from the Netherlands!
Lucienne.
What a sad world we live in when people will complain about a vegetable garden! I applaud your courage in taking a stand for what is your right – to grow your own garden, on your own land.
I really love this, and it’s so beautiful! More people need to do this, and stop wasting resources to grow useless grass, just so all the suburban houses can look the same. There will come a time, very soon, that the busybody complainers will wish they had done the same!
Wow, that front yard looks HORRIBLE! How dare you try to grow something other than a perfectly preened putter lawn. Why, you could actually sustain a family on the stuff in your front yard and that is a violation of color of law ordinance XYZPDQ! 😉 Just kidding of course and all said tongue in cheek. Beautiful garden mate. You have more support than you know. We all must hang together on things like this, or we will surely hang separately. Kudos and well done!
As far as I know, there is even a kitchen garden at the white house. The First Lady Michelle Obama has put up the project for growig healthy food. So, how could they be against something witch is done even by the First Lady? And by the way, I like your garden, and even vegetebals have flowers.
Yes, that is strange, as long as you are not growing cannabis or opium you should be allowed to grow what you want. Keep on gardening!
Interesting read:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035301_Obama_executive_orders_food_supply.html
Have you called the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Garden? Perhaps as part of their sustainability programs they might have some interest in averting any code that would restrict grass lawn alternatives, or know of precedent-setting cases, or otherwise point you to helpful resources. Your particular situation may be outside their charter, but they are an amazing resource of remarkably thoughtful people. I wish you luck, and will do my part to publish your story. Also, consider visiting change.org and start a petition drive there. Many great things happen when we all join our voices. Good luck!
They have no case, your garden is beautiful and evidently well taken care of. Nothing you are growing is dangerous or illegal. This is a backwards mentality that has no place in a healthy community.
I have now written to Mrs Obama at the White House to highlight your case… after all, she’s a tenant and is allowed a vegetable garden!
Perhaps other readers could do the same?
Wouldn’t it be interesting if they planted the whole front lawn at the White House in an organic garden and gave the food to the needy?
Now that would be something… we can only hope.
I have a front yarden also! I hope common sense prevails and you start a positive movement in MO to create more beautiful vegetable gardens in front yards. I have found tremendous support doing mine from my neighbors, and hope I can continue. Mine is not as orderly as yours (see it in my web series “Late Bloomer”), and I only wish I had a bigger front yard. Good luck!
Your garden is gorgeous! I see no weeds or disarray of any kind! It’s obviously well managed and cared for, and quite attractive.
My wife just bought me a book, “The Edible Front Yard”, so the spirit of self reliance has a chance in America yet.
This is unbelieveable that they harass you for something that looks so pretty, is editable, contains no poisonous herbicides, pestacides and is good for you and your family.
I for one have Diabetes and my A1c was 13. Then I started growing Sea Buckthorn and Bitter Melon both from Asia that the FDA is trying to have outlawed here in the US but just by eating the fruit of these plants my A1c is now 5.5 or less. The next thing I want to grow is a Graviola tree. Its fruit is 10,000 times more potent than chemo and less intrusive to the body. I have the seeds and am germanating them in a cave under a very powerful lite.
I feel for you and hope you win the battle but as my FBI friend has told me in this country things have changed and you are now Guilty until you come up with a good Attorney and the money to prove you are innocent.
Remember to tell them that local food is a National Security issue in that the more food we grow in our own yard, the less we will need to rely on middle-east oil to transport our food supply, and fewer troop casualties to boot!
yeah dont let bankster gangsters tell you that you cant grow your own food! fuck ’em!
this is ridiculous. If there is nothing stating that you cannot grow your garden in the front yard, then it is your RIGHT to. You paid for the land upon which your house sits, and you maintain it. There is no reason for the officials to get their panties in a knot. It’d be different if it was on the boulevard, but this is just ridiculous. Keep fighting!
That’s just plain ridiculous….unless you are growing ‘illegal crops’ then they should leave your garden alone….i thought America was land of the free….I just love my little Belize and glad I can grow my garden in any part of my yard!!!
I bet they do not go after the slum lords in your area. It is all about who they think they can get away with bullying. I support you! Our property is a backyard habitat and we garden on the public way next to the road. Keep up the fight!
Your garden looks great i wish you the best of luck ,the code enforcement should be after people who litter their yards with scrap eg: old cars /old appliances rather then people who make good use of their yards
Way too much of this is happening down. I haven’t heard of any cases up here in Canada, but these are such dangerous precedents. You have my full support for your beautiful, nutritious gardens!!
I haven’t heard of front yard gardens being outlawed in Canada, but we do have a case on Vancouver Island that merits a look see. Dirk Becker of Compassion Farm in Lantzeville BC. It is equally outrageous!!
Yes, Erin, I have heard and read about Dirk Becker….it just doesn’t make any sense…
But awareness MUST be raised so that people are properly informed of their rights, so that they can raise their own food.
At a time when food is so expensive, we should be encouraging growing your own food! It enhances the home & community. As long as the space is clean & well tended, which it is, QUIT HARASSING THEM & LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!
This is a great book by a fellow Oregonian, check it out!
http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/foodnotlawns/
also for a local organization check out http://www.foodnotlawns.com/
Good luck with your fight.
We Americans are clearly no longer known for either our intelligence or our ingenuity; and our leadership proves this better than anything we do, or don’t do. We are being “led” by fools and charlatans, who no longer represent our best interests. Instead, they represent the highest bidder – even when they don’t themselves understand the connections they support. Apparently, Missouri is now the “Don’t Show Me” state.
I fixed it Rick. Thanks for the understanding that so few can grasp.
Keep up the good fight. If it’s not against the law, and on your own land then it’s your business and no one else’s. I think your garden looks great, and really, who needs all that grass just to mow anyway? Grass is over-rated.
Why do people have to stick their noses in other peoples business? They just need to get a life, They are probably just jelious
Your yard is gorgeous and inspirational. I’ve been harassed by neighbors before and I feel your pain. Hang in there! And enjoy your beautiful veggies.
Your garden is fantastic! Keep fighting!!
You have my full support. Don’t give up; you are doing the right thing!
Why is growing flowers or shrubs or grass better than vegetables? Your garden is beautiful! (I’d much rather see a neighbor with a nicely tended veggie garden in their front yard than creepy over-manicured landscaping.)
This is what every home should look like in AMERICA!!! this is INDEPENDENCE and HEALTH. THis is food without pesticides and monsanto.. this is natural, this is PERFECT.
I think your garden looks very nice and neat, I can’t believe people these days!
keep your garden! until they have a written order saying you cant, they have no say.
gardening is a great way to save money and have a healthier food source and diet.
up here in Oregon, every other yard has a garden!
Mrs. Obama would be proud!!!! Let’s take it to the Whitehouse!! Keep us up to date on how we can support you!!
We just planted in our front yard. I would not back down. I did plant some enable flowers to give the right appearance. It’s better than weeds. Good luck. Keep the faith.
let’s take it to the white house indeed! This infringes on our freedom, why can’t we plant where we can. Why are useless ornamental plants preferred over something useful? I wish you luck.
Your yarden is beautiful and I hope you get the chance to have a bountiful harvest!
Wish you the best with this. Stand up for your right to grow the plants you love.
These idiots who have the time and energy to waste on complaining about a front yard garden, which is an extremely beneficial thing to have, need a good wake up call. The rest of the world is falling apart and they are pointing a finger at someone doing something good! I’m so disgusted that this even had to become an issue.
Growing your own food is the way to go. Keep on fighting
i love your beautiful garden. i wish i could grow one like that! stand up for your rights. hopefully, not only will you prevail, but you will successfully enact an ordinance that allows people to grow what they want, where they want on their own space! best of luck to you.
Is there really that much difference between having flowers or vegetable plants in your front yard? Seems like people lose sight of the good things. I think we all should have gardens wherever we want or can have them. Keep foghting for yours!! I think it looks fantastic!!!
Ok now, I’m just going to be flipped here, to point out how ridiculous this situation is. Turn the face of your house to look like the face of the back of your house, and vise versa. Whaa la, you have a garden in your back yard. I’m so glad I could be a part of your solution. You’re welcome. Ha Ha.
It’s an interesting thing when we buy ourselves home for shelter, then plant a garden for health and nourishment and are told this is not acceptable. Why should it matter if our food is grown in the front, back or side of our homes? They are OUR homes. From the pictures I see, You take great care of Your garden, it is not an eyesore. Shame on code enforcement. My support is with You!
You have done a great job with this Garden. It doesn’t look like a garden at all. It looks like well manicured shrubs and wild plants. I see no eye sore here. Good luck with your fight. I would call the local news outlets.
Thank you for doing this! It’s just sensible, and maybe it will give others the courage to turn the tide as well.
Keep on fighting. It looks beautiful and well tended. Much better than most veg plots I’ve seen.
As the Indian Chief said, you people are crazy, take a good piece of earth, tear it up, plant grass, water,fertilize, water.mow and throw it away? Do not be discouraged …keep up the good fight! YOU ARE RIGHT, THEY ARE WRONG!
There’s nothing wrong with that front yard. Beautiful, well-tended, and healthy to boot!
It’s unfortunate that the town you live in is not keeping up with the times. Every one knows that mowed lawns are the scourge of the planet. Mowed lawns should be outlawed!
Most ordinances list “grass” & “weeds” as not being allowed to be so many inches tall. check the ordinances for specific words & if vegetables, edible plants are not in there, then they have no leg to stand on! I could plant a hundred fruit trees in my front yard & no one should say a thing. You should probably file a petition in your city & get signatures to present to your City Hall, to be able to have an ordinance enacted to specifically mention edible plants. That way, future gardeners will have something to adhere to. I do know that an “eyesore” is totally different, as your neighbors would have to file a complaint against you, but I, for one, do not see this as anything but beautiful. (Did I mention that I have dandelions in my yard? They are edible too, at a certain stage, and make wine, from what I have heard. Everyone I know would be fined & harassed, if that was the case!) Good luck to you & I hope this helps!
Stand tall against the City’s wrongful charges. This ios a beautiful Garden and should be allowed to stay, grow and provide “healthy food” for this family.
Go you! Edible landscaping FTW! ^_^
Also, I bet you’re a rocking awesome parent. The fact that you care enough about what your child ingests to grow your own GARDEN for him? That takes commitment. And a lot of love. =) take pictures of weed piles and post-em on your mirror for those hard grizzly-momma days when you need a reminder of how stupendous and exceptional you truly are. ❤
I experimented with taking a look at your web site with my mobile phone and the structure doesnt seem to be correct. Might want to check it out on WAP as well as it seems most cellular phone layouts are not really working with your website.
I think what you are doing with your own garden has nothing to do with anybody else. And the fact that you are using the garden to grow your own vegetables in admirable. Don’t let them stop you.
That’s the craziest thing ever! I hope that they wake up and see that what you are doing is just as beautiful as just-for-show plants are!
This is a beautiful garden. I see no reasn why anyone would have a problem with it in the front yard… its not over grown or full of weeds. hmm. Well, good luck. I hope it all works out for you.
Your garden is beautiful. It’s amazing that they take all the time to try to get you to remove something that is legal. What else could they be spending their time on? Don’t back down. In a world where kids don’t know where vegetables come from, your garden could also be educational.
I totally agree with terkl – don’t back down. There are lots of people who are willing to stand with you! =)
Much more beautiful than grass. You can be our neighbor anyday.
That garden is lovely and so much better for the environment – why waste water and time on worthless grass?
Feedbacks are really free-learning for blog writers. Those who feel they have zero more to learn shall turn them off at the outset.
how lovely! i am wanting to do something similar in my front yard. it gets the most sunlight and the thought of all that wasted space makes me sick! especially all the time that goes into maintaining that wasted space. i would much rather pull weeds and nurture plants that would in turn nurture my family then waste hours cutting grass. no one in my family eats grass!
That’s unbelievable…I have a smaller garden in my front yard but I it is bordering our property and has a monkey grass border….some veggie plants look better….good luck on your battle.
I am new to this issue and am outraged at the arrogance of these code enforcers. My favorite bit is their claim that your corn plants pose a public safety concern. Judging from your current photo, the corn stalks would need to uproot themselves, use their leaves to crawl across your cul-de-sac, then fling their delectable, tender ears at oncoming automobiles and pedestrians. Unless, of course, you planted a rare and dangerous criminal variety of corn, which hangs out in dark alleys and mugs unsuspecting passersby. The code enforcement folks appear to be a crew of nitwits. You have a ton of support on your side.
Comment of the month 🙂
I anticipate similar problems if we follow through with a plan to have a garden in our front yard next Spring. It’s the only place where there is adequate sun. Your City is doing what it can to provide support for the property rights (and ultimately, property values) of your neighbors. If someone painted their house pink and purple, you would want the City to step in. So what would work best here is to show the support of your neighbors, which I suspect you are already trying to do. Be sure when you do it that you address your questions to the concerns the City is going to have. For example, rather than ask ‘do you like it?’ or ‘do you object to it?’, I would ask ‘Do you believe this landscaping will affect property values in a negative way?’ ‘Do you believe there should be an ordinance against planting vegetables in the front yard?’ ‘If so, what conditions or requirements would you place on it?’ Ultimately, the City Council will listen to the will of the neighborhood. That is, after all, who they are elected to serve. They will not get re-elected if they find themselves on the wrong side of the fight. They know that. What you have to do is convince them that what you are doing reflects the will of the people and that you are not violating anyone’s right to enjoy their own property. I hope the best for you as you set the stage for what may eventually become the norm (if the economy continues to tank).
I have my neighborhood’s support more than not, but in the end, it really doesn’t matter what a small percentage of elitists think of my garden. It will never be good enough for some, no matter what concessions I might make. I initially put extra effort into beautifying the garden, which was not mandatory by current ordinance regulations. I planted a traditional flower border, installed garden edging, mulched almost everywhere, and put special planning into where each type of plant would go to make it more appealing to others. If the City doesn’t want my garden as it stands, it should have written an ordinance regulating against it months ago. Instead, this situation has dragged on, and we have been made to defend something that is not against the law. Many cities across the entire country have adopted new laws to protect citizens from this type of harassment and discrimination. I will not make any changes to our garden unless a court of law deems it necessary, and we then exhaust all avenues of appeal. There is no proof that an edible garden in the front yard lowers property values. There is however adequate reason to think the contrary. Progressive, sustainable communities bring prosperity and provide economic growth, not detract from it. I know your advice was only meant to help, and I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m ungrateful for the support. Sadly, the “let’s all be friends” approach was ignored in the beginning, and it now seems this fight can only have one victor. I humbly ask your understanding. Thanks for stopping by, truly.
Karl Tricamo
There are pink and puirple houses that look great and I haven’t run into a City that regulated house colors yet. It is a matter of taste not an area Cities should be regulating.
Good work. Keep it up. There can be no rational objection to such a garden.
Your “Code Enforcement” regulator doesn’t seem to be working inline with the sustainability initiatives of your city planning department. Although the “lanscaping” page is currently blank, it is clearly stated on the page below that Ferguson CIty planning wants residents to “GO GREEN” and intends to craft language regarding the role of landscaping in this effort. I would cntact your CIty Planning department for assistance and guidance on how to get code enforcement an education in modern “Green Landscaping”. LAWNS are definitely NOT green!
http://www.fergusoncity.com/index.aspx?NID=421
I totally resent these Bureaucracies that think they can dictate the ‘who-what-where’s’ of other people’s properties. Your garden is lovely. I have forwarded your blog via 2 twitter accounts & 2 Facebook accounts. keep fighting for your rights to grow your own food on YOUR OWN PROPERTY
Your veggies look great. Good luck with your fight with City Hall.
My brother hates to see chewed gum. I tell him “don’t look at it.” Same rule applies here. If you don’t own that yard, get over it. It’s not like it’s a garbage dump or something. It’s a well kept garden. People seem to like to be chained to corporations and the government, not knowing or caring where their food comes from, so long as things “look nice” and conform.
Go to change.org and start a petition!
As long as your garden in the front of your house is maintained, I say “GO FOR IT!” I do understand the feelings of neighbors if someones yard is trashy and out of control. But using your yard to grow vegetables & herbs is a great idea. Just keep it nice and under control, then no one should have any complaints at all. Personally, I feel it’s your land, so use it.
If you are not creating a public health or safety problem, then you are just being harassed.
Installing and nurturing food gardens, flower plots, tall grass meadows, and woods are your property right. And they’re the right thing to do.
I’ve been to court 3 times as the city tried to tell me my gardens and habitat rebuilding were illegal, and my vegetables were weeds. They’re not.
All the cases were dismissed.
It’s illegal for a city to harass and discriminate. What should be illegal are the lawns coated in pesticide and herbicide, and the ones that waste gas, water and other valuable resources.
The city should be encouraging what you do, training people to do it, setting you up as an example for others to follow, helping seniors and the disabled sow gardens that grow golden with them. Someone posted your plight on our group, and we’re behind you 100 %! https://www.facebook.com/groups/18219052516686
When I see a beautiful garden in a neighbors front yard, I smile and think to myself I would really like to meet these creative and intelligent people.
What a wonderful garden! It’s too bad some people can’t see how beneficial it is.
Lovely – I wish more people would grow their front yards instead of mowing …
This is crazy, and I will do whatever I possibly can to help spread the word around a bit. There should never be a time in this world that someone is told they cannot grow their own food.
Nice garden – keep going. I think, that everything is OK.
Love the garden “) I live in Florissant if you need anything please email me.
I love it!
Beautiful & Keep up the good fight! Remind them of the LAWSUIT the woman in Tulsa is bringing against the city for what they did to her when THEY (the city) broke the law (among other things removing her TREES & trespassing in backyard. Continue to convince them YOU will NOT back down.. its a pain but then what you are doing is worth it. SERIOUSLY consider becoming part of City Hall and CHANGE the laws to be SPECIFIC to PROTECT people like yourselves VICTORY GARDENS unite 🙂 !!!
With farmland being gobbled up by greedy developers and farmers selling their farms because their kids don’t want to do it, the only way we may be able to get fresh food in the near future is to grow it ourselves. They should be applauding initiative not trying to shut it down! It’s incredibly short sighted on their part. Why on earth are we spening fortune to grow grass, only to cut it and throw it away??? This makes so much more sense! By the way, it looks great!
We must make this an item of national attention, as it goes to the heart of property “ownership” and that is a diminishing commodity. Not only should the owner have control of use of his/her property, but should also have full use of ground water below that property. This is where you will run into extreme resistance from local authorities. We won’t be able much longer to water lawns or gardens with processed water delivered via miles of pipe that must be maintained and replaced. It simply isn’t sustainable. Just flushing the toilet with water processed for drinking is folly. A simple sandpoint well is all that is needed in most areas to provide all the water needed.
I say to notify every media outlet available. People magazine loves stories like this and everyone reads it too. The more who hear about this, the more that will be outraged! How dare they!
Thank you for fighting this for future front yard gardeners. Stand strong and dig your roots in deep
I wish you the best and a great deal of support from Edmonton,Canada! Such nonsense, these puritanical idiots with their attempted enforcement of the status quo. Grass is no different than a weed, if anyone doubts that simply tell them to stop cutting their lawn for a month or so. We choose to cultivate lawns. You have the freedom to do as you wish. Several homes in my area have front yards fully cultivated with edible plants and they are lovely.
Hang in there! Not long ago it was common to plant “victory” gardens- we have come so far and lost so much, which puts us on the cutting edge of reclaiming it. You have my thoughts and hopes from the far North. Good luck!!!
Oh no but HELL no! If there isn’t a law that forbids it then let it grow. If they ticket you or fine you, get a cheep lawyer that will love to squash those thick headed nasty bugs and you need to use every media outlet to show this outrageous treatment. THIS IS AMERICA PEOPLE. ACT LIKE IT OR GO LIVE IN AFGHANISTAN OR PUERTO RICO OR SOME GROSS COUNTRY WHERE YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS.
Your garden is so pleasing to the eye and so beneficial to you and your son’s health…especially since it’s GMO free. I guess that is why they are harassing you. What a shame. I wish you and your family the best of luck. Keep up the fight…it’s for a worthy cause, your health, your freedom! God Bless. 😉
I love your yarden, it is beautiful! I wish that I could have one of my own. Unfortunately I live in an apartment community and have no room for one. I’m a gardener at heart and wish that I could do the same for my family. I’m ashamed of our local governments for their actions and the god-like complex that they seem to have acquired. If you do get a petition started please let me know, as I would be proud to sign it! Keep fighting to do what is right and within your rights for your family! You have my support!
Yolanda, Apartments have grass. Talk with the manager and see if you could start a garden, perhaps even with your neighbors. I know of one aprtment coplex that let their residence start a garden “)
Lovely garden! Hang in there and I wish you the best of luck.
Wilga Avenue in Sydney has moved their community out of their backyards and into their front yards. A whole street of edible veggie gardens. It seems that the residents of Wilga Avenue chose the time-honored guerrilla gardening technique of asking for forgiveness rather than permission from their local council. Since they did such a great job, the council got behind the project and now actively promotes veggie gardening where possible.
I would send the police a link to this, showing the support you have from across the nation. Some of the smaller governments in some states, counties, etc., don’t like the idea of showing people how to grow their own food. If you keep it in the back yard, no one will see it, so no one can be inspired by it to do something similar. Keep fighting, no matter what. Start a petition here, with a million names! See how they like that!
Let’s face it: small towns are often full of small minds, minds that are limited and without creativity or length or breadth of concept. That having a garden in your front yard so baffles the crap out of these people’s sensibilities just shows that you are dealing with folks with limited abilities. I say that if the police tell you it is a civil matter, that you get yourself an appt with a civil attorney, and not a local one….a city one, who won’t give a damn what the ladies at their church circle say. Sometimes you have to take a stand against the oppression of the mindless nazi’s who think they rule the world. I know. I live in a town of 180 people. I feel like I’m suffocating to death every day. There are public interest lawyers out there, and free lawyers out there, and basically all you need is a letter written to the city govt on a lawyers letterhead telling them they are in danger of being sued if they don’t shut the hell up and leave you alone. I really detest small minded people like the ones that are harrassing you. However, i would enjoy it while you still can, because inevitably they will get a law passed against front yard gardens by next year. Or try to. Seriously. Call a lawyer. They might be willing to take care of it over the phone for a very minimal fee. Call a law school and talk to a civil procedure professor or something. BUT GET SOME LEGAL ADVICE. Scare ’em and they should back off. They’re just bullies, after all, and we all know about bullies, right?
It looks beautiful and better than most of my neighbor’s landscaping. How about taking up a campaign to start community gardening. Feed your neighbors, grow your community!
I have always thought that vegetable gardens are much more beautiful than flower gardens, and your garden is gorgeous!! Well kept and inviting. Keep up the good fight!
I thought we ‘owned’ our homes?? When did it become an issue to plant a garden regardless of whether its the front or back yard? Your garden looks great. I sometimes wish I had some land to plant my own garden. Perhaps some of the comments are correct in saying Monsanto had something to do with this. I would not put it past them. Its about revenue and politics. Our rights are being restricted and we are told what is good for our health. When did this happen? This is but a small example of bureaucrats wanting to take over and control all segments of our lives when they have no right to do so.
Stand tall and stand strong. You will prevail.
see if your city will let u file online, That way they cant tell u anything, take screenshots and save emails, email those confirmation emails to your trusted people and your lawyers. Hope this might help
HI!!! This is Ivette Soler, The author of Timber Press’s The Edible Front Yard and moderator of Front Yard Food on Facebook. What you are doing is wholesome, sustainable, and AHEAD OF YOUR TIME! Thank you so much for fighting for what you, and many of us, believe so strongly in. I know how hard this struggle is, having been through it with others. If there is anything I can do to help, I will gladly lend my voice. Edible Front Yards are a practical answer to many of the problems we face today – keep fighting the good fight! BTW – your garden is BEAUTIFUL. Way prettier than MINE!!!
XOXOIvette
Your veggie garden front yard looks better than most front yards! Do not understand the jurisdictions (or neighbors) that would actually object to this for any reason. I live on five acres in a rural area and want to re-landscape my frontyard as a veggie garden – because it is attractive and functional and will feed my family!
Keep up the fight! Shame on the City! Pathetic waste of time and resources harassing people for such a beautiful front yard vegetable garden. I hope you have chickens in the backyard!
Your front yard garden is lovely and tidy. An inspiration. If you are within your City’s ordinances, which you certainly are, the opinions of others should not matter. My front yard garden (mostly in plain gray buckets) and my back patio container garden are within my HOA’s bylaws. I’ll be adding an indoor/outdoor clothes drying rack soon, too, as that is also not forbidden. There are 2 of us in this condo association who have front yard gardens. No one has said anything negative yet. My next door neighbor thinks my front yard is beautiful. She wants to do something like this, on a small scale, with her front yard (our yards connect). I have also taken over a common area planter that has been abandoned for over 3 years. It’s now home to a strawberry patch, herbs, and I’ll be adding a fig tree in the fall. I’d be devastated to lose my plants. You hang in there. What’s happening to you is wrong. Can you find some sympathetic in your mayor’s office, health department, local celebrity, to help with your cause?
I am in awe that the city would harass you for a beautiful garden in your front yard. We ripped up our lawn in front 2 years ago and planted vegies and herbs and have had nothing but compliments. I can’t imagine living in a community that wouldn’t support you. Keep up the fight.
Melissa, Portland, OR
I live in Africa where people are dying on a daily basis due to NO food, I think what you are doing is amazing and if we all could do the same, hunger and illness in Africa would be less…… People should be focussing on the real issues in life, perhaps more people should visit Africa to understand how terrible life could be! I think what you are doing is awesome!
Someone just linked your page on FB. So I’m stopping by to show my support. I hear about these things happening… I am disgusted but not surprised. The government needs to stay out of our personal lives! Please keep on fighting. You have a ton of support on your side. And I will be forwarding this.
Tax dollars at work (insert sarcasm). This kind of thing is happening all over .. from gardens to herd shares. I am not a government conspiracy nut but sometimes if it walks like a duck and quacks .. it is a duck,
I see nothing wrong with having your garden in the front yard. It looks well maintained and is serving a purpose in providing food for your family. The “authorities” need to spend their time more wisely on real crimes instead of persecuting a family for having a garden in their front yard. Have you tried finding a lawyer who may assist you pro bono? Good luck to you, may your garden grow and flourish year after year!
I believe that if EVERY SINGLE commenter here who LIKES & ENJOYS this garden & those who are Successfully having their OWN front yard garden WRITES or PHONES the City/MAYOR/Codes Dept and “officially” says something POSITIVE about this garden and the negative publicity the City is getting because of their Nonsense – then maybe we Really can help this family. I have already done so twice – once with examples from cities who ENCOURAGE such gardens.. come on everybody – contact Ferguson 🙂 —
On Ben Lomond Drive in Sacramento, one resident put a garden in their front yard. It is rectangular and bordered by a fence–the rest of the yard is grass. It looks nice and I don’t think they’ve had any problems. It’s been there over a year now.
Sounds like you have some dumb officials in Missouri. Have your considered running for local office on the issue? You might get some free press if you make an issue of it. Good Luck.
Another thought: write to Michelle Obama and ask for her help. Ask her to visit your garden when she campaigns in Missouri. If she comes, the national press will follow!
Again, good luck!
Great idea! You could write the First Lady as well!
Not an Obama supporter, but if she, Michelle (FLOTUS), has made a garden on the White House lawn, what is the problem with yours??? If she’s such a supporter of gardening and trying to get kids to eat healthy food, why not invite her to visit your garden? (It’s lovely, BTW). She touts her garden, but she needs to support those who actually do this to provide healthy food for their families who then end up battling with narrow-minded idiots who think only in terms of manicured lawns.
It looks lovely. Better than lots of other yards in the city. You are actually taking care of your yard. They need to get on the people who aren’t taking care of yards (and homes like the abandoned one on Hereford) and quit bothering people who’s yards look nice.
There are cities that are doing this type of thing on public lands and people can help garden and harvest the produce for their families. Tell your city to start being environmentally and fiscally responsible. Chase the bad guys, not someone doing something sensible. My god, you live in what we in the west call farm country.
http://www.google.com/search?q=front+yard+gardening&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4DKUS_enUS267US268&site=webhp&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=AeQEUKC6NorJqgGQ1tTHCA&ved=0CF4QsAQ&biw=1139&bih=528
Geez what is wrong with people. It is so easy – live and let live. That is it. Nothing more. You do not like it – do not do it. But that does not give anyone the right to stop someone else from doing it. No one has to agree with you but all should agree you have the right to do it and all should defend your right to do so. This is a basic freedom.
http://www.marthastewart.com/268773/front-yard-gardens
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/front-yard-vegetable-garden-article10373.html
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/15/charges-dropped-against-woman-for-front-yard-vegetable-garden/
http://www.southernstates.com/articles/front-yard-vegetable-garden.aspx
I think your town is populated with a bunch of douche bag idiots (except for you guys). You have a magnificent garden! We have people starving in the world, war, and global climate change – yet they have the time to pester you about your garden?! You have to fight for your right to garden… keep up the good work! : )
your garden is lovely, good luck!!
Your garden is beautiful, it serves as an inspiration to many of us. I should be growing more and using my space better. Thankyou for waging this battle and not giving in to the “bullies”. Keep it up! Good luck and God bless
Unbelievable, your garden is beautiful – keep up the fight
Way to go!! I can’t believe a city would be so opinionated as to fight this battle. Are the neighbors the ones who are feuling this fight?
I luckily do not live where you live. Our backyard is not suitable for growing either we have planted several vegetable and fruit plants in our front yard without complaints. I hope everything works out for you and your plants.
While I understand code enforcements being in place I also say they take their codes to far. I always was under the impressions where codes were put in place for safety issues and not what one might like or dislike on a citizens property. Way to much government is the problem and not enough people standing for what is right and others not even trying to do whats right so that is what puts us in situations that we are in. Keep up what you are doing!!!!!!!!!
You have a beautiful garden. I do not understand how anyone would find this objectionable. It is highly desirable to grow your own food.
The city of Ferguson should be ashamed.
I wish you success with your gardening!
The first lady has a “front yard garden” why can’t we?
I think it looks fine it is weeded and seems better kept than some lawns boo to people who can’t think outside the box!
Very nice. Much more useful and productive than a bunch of grass.
Looks fine. Let the Lawn Nazis have their apoplectic fits. Doesn’t make them right. I’m in Columbia MO where we’ve got lots of gardeners — all I’ve talked to are behind you!
Please have a look at Galen Chadwick utube. He’s in S.W. Mo. and has some VERY interesting things to say on this very subject.
The veggies in your garden photos look wonderfully healtlhy – congrats on your green thumb! I’ve planted vegetables before in a rented 20′ x 20′ garden alongside other gardeners who also rented their own plot. (The community gardens make for great socialization in terms of learning from other gardeners anda comparing notes) This year I have a few veggies in my back yard that are among my favorites. I see both points here. As I homeowner who knows at some point I want to sell my house I’m aware that appearance is important if you want to get the couple of hundred plus thousands you’ve invested back; and on the otherhand, yes, we also want freedom on the property that we either rent or own. Seems to me that in most circumstances there is a lot of room to reach a reasonable compromise that makes both sides satisfied if not happy.
As a resident of St. Louis City, I fully support all of my neighbors who have vegetable gardens, however large or small, no matter where the gardens are located. What you are doing is wonderful! I regret that I did not have time this year to plant my tomatos. There are many properties in my neighborhood that are overgorown with crabgrass or weeds. Or dry and barren. Some houses vacant for years with chimneys falling down and decaying porches. It disgusts me that people waste time (and presumably taxpayer money) bothering someone like you who is doing a good thing.
Coming from a 37 year old St Charles man, I say good for you..! Looks like you have a wonderful garden. I wish that my neighbors, who are well with in the law on how they keep their yards, looked half as good as yours. Yea, I’m that guy with the picture perfect yard compared to the rest of the street.
When we live in a country where it is legal to own an AK 27(?) and not legal to grow a garden in our front yard, we are in crazy territory. Keep up the fight.
awesome garden!
Beautiful garden and home! Very well done and maintained. As I read through your blog and learn of your story I just keep saying to myself, “God help us.”
It is so ridiculous and over reaching of any government at any level to take such measures against an American. Illegals, drug dealers, and criminals are not sought after and harassed as much as your family has been harassed.
Your story makes me sad and angry for what your family has had to endure and how much control government is grabbing from the American people.
Just to let you know that I have nominated you for a ‘One Lovely blog’ Award (http://wp.me/p2mlPL-6x)… I hope it helps with the publicity!
You certainly have our support. And you garden is beautiful. We would be happy if you were our neighbor…