Front-Yard Garden Trends

04 Apr Front-Yard Garden Trends

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Before we know it, it will be time to start planting our vegetable gardens. While most of our gardens are in the backyard, we found this great article about front-yard gardens that we wanted to share with our Kurtz & Co. friends! Below are several fruits and vegetables that are perfect for a front yard garden.

“Blueberries. This relatively shade-tolerant fruit looks beautiful at all times of year, from bare red stems in the winter to delicate foliage that turns fiery orange in the fall. Choose from highbush or lowbush varieties depending on your preference. See how to grow blueberries.

Mustard greens. Peppery, cold-tolerant mustard greens are a great addition to salads. These veggies grow easily from seed and range in shape and color from lime-green Tokyo bekana to feathery red mizuna. Try growing mustard greens in containers and planting a fresh round of seeds every week.

Chives. These vigorous perennial herbs are incredibly easy to grow, and their grassy foliage and cheery flowers look great in a front yard. There’s nothing quite like chopping fresh chives for an omelette. Just keep in mind that chives can be invasive, so always plant them in containers.

Chard. This stunning veggie, a member of the beet family, is known for its brightly colored stems. Chard grows easily from seed and doesn’t bolt in the heat, making it a classic for home gardens.

Things to Consider-Front yards are usually more exposed than backyards. It’s a smart idea to get your soil professionally tested for heavy metals such as lead, especially if you’re near a busy road or have an older home. Search for a reputable soil laboratory in your area. In some cases, contaminants from house paint or car exhaust from the years before lead was banned can persist in the soil for decades. If your soil is contaminated, plant your veggies in containers or consider forgoing edibles altogether until you can remediate the situation.

Consider planting a low hedge, or keeping your edibles back from the road. Do what you can to keep animals, including cats, from using your front-yard garden as a toilet. Their droppings can contain harmful parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii. In a backyard, row covers and chicken wire are useful ways to keep animals out of raised beds, but they usually don’t look good in a front yard. Planting your veggies in small containers rather than large raised beds may make your garden less attractive to neighborhood felines.Keep in mind that if you don’t have a fence, some of your produce might be eaten by hungry or curious neighbors. Decide whether or not this is going to be a problem for you. If it is, consider avoiding easy-to-identify plants, like tomatoes and berries.

If you’re planning to grow a combination of vegetables and ornamental plants, take measures to ensure that edibles don’t get confused with poisonous ornamentals like delphiniums, especially if you’re gardening with kids. Give the veggies their own designated space, label your plants clearly and make sure family members are educated about what’s growing in the garden.”