Spyke
lemmy.world

This is a serious question... why do front yards exist at all? Put my fuckin' house closer to the curb and give me that room in the backyard, where it's actually usable!

23
lemmy.world

I would rather have my house set back a bit from the street. A little farther from road noise, and if there's a car accident, I'd rather vehicles ended up in my yard than in my house. I don't know if that's actually the reason though. And it still doesn't need to be a lawn in front, even if there's a bit of space.

30
scholarreply
lemmy.world

Trees don't do a great job either, you need geometry to effectively dampen and reflect noise away. Walls and embankments are best.

8

A wall, it helps with privacy and with the noise, then fill it out with shrubs, trees, crops, etc.

A bit of paradise right at your doorstep, as opposed to whatever people get from a barren lawn...

4
Ledivinreply
lemmy.world

I can, but it's not as pleasant - cars driving by, and less privacy. There's just literally no benefit and several minor drawbacks in comparison to the back

7
zalgotextreply
sh.itjust.works

So you'd rather put your house, your literal living space, closer to the place with more cars and less privacy?

4
Ledivinreply
lemmy.world

Ah, but you seem to be missing an important part... my front yard isn't made of walls

2
zalgotextreply
sh.itjust.works

Ideally the front bit of your house also has things like windows and doors, which kinda negate the whole "less cars and more private" points.

1
Ledivinreply
lemmy.world

...you feel the same amount of privacy in your living room as you do in your front yard?

3

You feel the same amount of privacy in your living room when it's right up next to the curb vs. set back a couple dozen feet?

1

I need a place to park our boat and vehicles. We're growing loads of plants out there, including food.

2
lemmy.world

Id kill for a garden like that. However i absolutely don't have the time for the upkeep

12

Farm style produce requires a lot of upkeep. People have no idea the work, and chemicals, that are needed to grow the stuff they buy in the grocery store. Nature will eat it before you do.

I'm not an expert, but I think planting native wild food bearing plants may help. If it can survive on its own it's worth a try.

6

This reminds me of a house in my neighborhood that goes all-out. I call it "the garden." The sidewalk in front of it as covered on both sides by a variety of native flowers and shrubs. After walking by lawn after lawn, it's like crossing a wild meadow, complete with butterflies and hummingbirds.

5
lemmy.world

That's going to be super expensive in the US, as you would get insane fines by the HOA and probably would get evicted (even if you own the house).

5
sh.itjust.works

Good luck finding a house you want to live in that is not in an HOA. Every year about 80% of new construction single family homes are in HOAs, and I imagine the ones that are not are not in neighborhoods.

7

They tend to be a little cheaper, too. Houses depreciate, land appreciates.

3

Yeah I use my brain when I choose where to live. Which is not in the US. However, I don't have money to buy so I'm forced to rent.

5
lemmy.world

My neighbor didn't like my 6ft tall thistle, and called the city. Jokes on him. Next year I have 12ft tall sunflowers ready to go, and I'm putting a wall of them up right at the fucking sidewalk (actually offset by about 4ft so you can't "accidentally" knock them all down while walking by.

4

I live in NL, I can do whatever the fuck I want with my garden. Also, I have 2 feet. No clue how to translate that to thistles or sunflowers. I don't live in 1800, sorry.

3

These both look stupid. Learn to balance. A clear-cut yard on one end of the spectrum, and some hobbyists vegetable maze on the other.

Also, I wonder what the income difference is between people living in houses like on the top and houses like on the bottom. I wonder if that affects their yards?

4
lemmy.world

Grass is the bane of foliage. It just shouldn’t have been.

Stupid golfers.

4

Grass isn't even horrific on its own. There are plenty of grasses, fescues, and sedges with native faunal associations.

Never letting it grow tall enough to flower and seed, though?

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CallMeAnAIreply
lemmy.world

Plenty of them in my HOA. Contrary to the contrarian Redditors/Lemmy users, most of them have common sense rules.

5

Yep, people only like to talk about drama. No one is going to post on social media about their boring HOA that just takes care of common areas and maybe holds an annual BBQ.

4

Your suburban home is using way more resources than is sustainable regardless of the quality of your garden.

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Vegetable gardens and native flowers > grass | Spyke