Once upon a time, gardens were considered high art, and gardeners were commissioned to landscape beautiful gardens for the rich. Ok, so lots of rich folks probably still have fancy gardens, but when was the last time you heard anyone refer to a person who tends to the growing of plants as an artist? Enter Fritz Haeg.
This past weekend, Baltimore’s Contemporary Museum opened its newest exhibit, Cottage Industries, which includes the documentation of Haeg’s Edible Estates Project, the most recent of which is situated in Baltimore. Edible Estates are commissioned by museums, but they are installed in front yards. In each city (there will be 9 total, this one is the 6th) Haeg finds a willing homeowner to participate, then gathers volunteers to remove the lawn and replace it with a highly productive edible landscape.
Haeg’s book, Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, documents the earlier versions of the project, but also educates would-be gardeners–the last pages are full of resources, statistics and regional planting calendars–and includes essays from the likes of Rosalind Creasy and Michael Pollan. Haeg’s point is that lawns are not only a tremendous waste of natural resources, but also act as a homogenizing barrier around suburban homes.
Back in April, my partner Jaimes and I volunteered with the planting of this Edible Estate, at the home of Clarence and Rudine Ridgely, and the thing I noticed most about the project was what a team effort it was. Gardening, even in community gardens, typically tends to be a solitary or small-group activity, but this had the feel of an old-timey barn raising, and as result of all those workers, we got done a day early.
Jaimes went out to the Ridgelys’ to see how it’s coming along last weekend. He reports that the tomato seedlings we donated to the cause (the rest of which just started blooming on our back porch) already have small green tomatoes growing. I’m jealous but happy for the Ridgelys and hope to get back out there this summer to check it out for myself, but in the meantime, I’m tracking their progress (and you can, too) at Clarence’s Edible Estate blog.
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