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| Good bye lawn. |
So much to consume, so little time... and money. Why not concentrate on being a producer instead, like we all used to be at one time.
These days everything a person could want (that money can buy at least) has been prepackaged for our convenience. Music, games, experiences, gadgets, furniture, entertainment and food are all made for you by someone else.
Unfortunately, most of it is crap made by giant companies that don't care about you, your health or your experience. When we buy into this system it robs us of our own abilities to be creators and produce the things we need and want ourselves.
But we can take back our self-reliance and enrich the world, ourselves and our communities in the process. Do It Yourself (DIY) is the way to go. We can do it.
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| Hello garden - beautiful and foodiful. |
I thought of this yesterday when I saw some neighbourhood kids enjoying sliding down a hill on makeshift sleds made out of cardboard. Not a corporate plastic sled in sight, and still lots of fun and laughter.
If you aren't into sledding, or are unfortunate enough to not have heaps of snow at the end of March like we do, there are other good ways to cut out the middlemen and become a producer.
Gardening is great opportunity to shift from consuming to producing. I love the Food Not Lawns movement for this reason. Most lawns are hooked on drugs, and even if they aren't, you can't eat grass.
Why not become a producer and create something beautiful and edible instead?
See more of this Food Not Lawns garden here.
i did the same in our garden its fab, love it , love from holland marion
ReplyDeleteMarion,
DeleteExcellent idea. I hear that land is at a premium over there, so a garden in the yard is even more precious.
This reminds me of the front garden in the 1970's sitcom series "The Good Life" put out by the BBC in the UK. Tom and Barbara Good turned their front garden over to vegetables when they decided to go self-sufficient. Trouble was, in one of the episodes they had problems with someone helping himself to the produce! Hope that didn't happen to these people!
ReplyDeleteFrances from the UK.
Frances,
DeleteLinda and I LOVE "The Good Life" and for a while we super inspired by their example. It was a good idea back then, and is an even better idea now and as time goes on.
I once grew a small plot of corn in my yard garden, and nurtured it into some beautiful ears. Shortly before I was to harvest someone swept in under the cover of darkness and took every single piece. It was kind of a complement to my growing skills that someone coveted my corn. I do hope they enjoyed it.
It would be nice to grow enough that you could give it away. That might deter theft by hungry non-gardeners.
Hi, how wonderful to turn lawn over to vegetables! When I was growing up in Sydney, Australia, a Chinese family turned their whole front yard into a vegetable garden. My parents were quite scathing about this, but I thought it was brilliant. What clever people, to make their dollars go further. I've read that the Italian migrants who came here in the 1950's payed their mortgages off quicker than the Aussies because they grew most of their own fruit and veg, preserved foods and made things from scratch. I hope to be able to do the same.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine.x
Madeleine,
DeleteYou are on the right track. What great models you have had in your experience, and how fortunate for you that you see their example as something to emulate, not put down.
For a lot of people gardens are like beans - only for the poor. We have been trained very well to show our wealth through waste - therefore useless lawns over productive gardens, or meat over beans and rice.
I also hope you will be able to do the same as your intelligent role models. That is certainly a goal for Linda and I - to be as smart and frugal as the Chinese and Italians that value self-sufficiency over appearances.