EDIBLE ESTATES: ATTACK ON THE FRONT LAWN A Project by Fritz Haeg
{buy at amazon, barnes & noble, d.a.p. or ask you neighborhood independent book store to order it!}
Contributions by Diana Balmori, Rosalind Creasy, Fritz Haeg, Michael Pollan, Lesley Stern and the owners of the three U.S. Edible Estates gardens. Published spring 2008 by Metropolis Books and Distributed by D.A.P.
description / praise / specs / credits / orders / travel / 2008 projects / press inquires
The Edible Estates project proposes the replacement of the domestic front lawn with a highly productive edible landscape. It was initiated by architect and artist Fritz Haeg on Independence Day, 2005, with the planting of the first regional prototype garden in the geographic center of the United States, Salina, Kansas. Since then three more prototype gardens have been created, in Lakewood, California; Maplewood, New Jersey; and London, England. Edible Estates regional prototype gardens are planned for Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland for 2008, and will ultimately be established in nine cities across the United States.
Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn documents the first four gardens with firsthand accounts written by the owners, garden plans, and photographs illustrating the creation of the gardens, from ripping up the grass to harvesting a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Essays by landscape architect Diana Balmori, garden and food writer Rosalind Creasy, Fritz Haeg, author Michael Pollan, and artist and writer Lesley Stern set the Edible Estates project in the context of larger issues concerning the environment, global food production, and generating a sense of community in our urban and suburban neighborhoods. The book also includes reports and photographs from the owners of other edible front yards around the country, and helpful resources to guide you in making your own Edible Estate.
Advance praise for Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn:
"The best ideas are usually the simplest ones. Fritz Haeg deserves a genius award for his wonderfully subversive plan. Instead of mowing your lawn, you should eat it." - Eric Schlosser, author, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
"Wherever I am, I'm always looking to see what's edible in the landscape. Every time I see the median strip in the street in front of Chez Panisse, I can't help but imagine it planted with waving rows of corn. Edible Estates describes wonderfully how a garden in front of every house can transform a neighborhood, sprouting the seeds not just of zucchini and tomatoes but of biodiversity, sustainability, and community." - Alice Waters, owner, Chez Panisse Restaurant
"In the future, that quarter-acre next to the house may be as valuable as the house itself. This book reminds us that there are things better than lawns--more beautiful, more hopeful, more fun." - Bill McKibben, author, The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life
"Much like a homegrown tomato, Edible Estates is at once delectable, inspiring and healthy. Read it: you'll never look at your front lawn the same way again." - Elizabeth Kolbert, author, Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
Publication date: February, 2008
Retail price: $24.95
Size: 128 pages, 8.5" x 8.5"
ISBN: 978-1-933045-74-0
D.A.P. - www.artbook.com
D.A.P. / Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
155 6th Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10013
800 338-2665
Descanso Gardens / Los Angeles, CA / Edible Estates demonstration garden / January 12th - Nov. 30th
Texas Arthouse / Austin TX / Edible Estates exhibition & Sundown Schoolhouse / Jan 26 - Mar 16
Austin AIA / Austin, TX / lecture / February 9
Texas Arthouse / Austin, TX / Edible Estate #5 planting / March 14-16
Whitney Museum / New York, NY / commissioned project & events for Biennial / March 6th - June 1st
New York Public Library / New York, NY / Live from NYPL book release event / March 7th
Fullerton Arboretum / Los Angeles, CA / lecture / March 29th
MOCA PDC / Los Angeles, CA / lecture & book signing / March 29th
Cleveland Institute of Art / Cleveland, OH / lecture / March 30th
Maryland Institute College of Art / Baltimore, MD / lecture / April 8th
MIT Center for Advanced Visual Art / Cambridge, MA / fellow, lecture & commissioned project / April 16th
Indianapolis Museum of Art / Indianapolis, IN / exhibtion & events / May 2nd - July
Contemporary Museum Baltimore / Baltimore, MD / Edible Estates exhibition & Sundown Schoolhouse / May - August
Brooklyn Designs / Brooklyn, NY / lecture / May 10th
CalArts Integrated Media / Valencia, CA / guest speaker / May 15th
Descanso Gardens / La Canada Flintridge, CA / garden talk, signing / May 17th
ICFF / New York, NY / keynote address, May 19th
Edible Estate #6 / Cottage Industry at Contemporary Museum Baltimore / opens May 31
Dwell on Design LA / Los Angeles / June 5th
Smart Project Space / public lecture / Amsterdam, The Netherlands / June 24th
Urban Agriculture Conference / London, UK / June 30th
Hammer Museum / in conversation with Doug Lord / July 23rd
Otis College / Los Angeles, CA / lecture, studio visits / July 24th
Garden Conservancy / San Fransisco / lecture / July 10th
San Francisco MoMA / San Francisco, CA / July 17th
PS 1 / Long Island City, NY / Work AC's Public Farm / August 24th
Casco Projects / Utrecht, Netherlands / commissioned projects, solo exhibition & events / September 12th -
Nevada Museum of Art / Reno, NV / lecture, conference / October 4-5th
Alaska Design Forum / Anchorage, AK / lecture / October 6th
Alaska Design Forum / Fairbanks, AK / lecture / October 7th
Alaska Design Forum / Juneau, AK / lecture / October 8th
Avalon Housing / Ann Arbor, Michigan / lecture / November 9th
Avalon Housing / Ann Arbor, Michigan / lecture / November 10th
Douglas F. Cooley Art Gallery / Portland, OR / commissioned projects & exhibition, Reed College / October - December
Chelsea Children's Edible Estate / New York, NY / co-produced by NYRP & Friends of the Highline / May 2009
Los Angeles / Jan 1 - 14 / planting of Edible Estates demo garden at Decanso Gardens Jan 8th - 11th
NYC / Jan 15 - 22 / Whitney Biennial preperation
Austin / Jan 22 - 27 / install show at Arthouse, opens Jan 26th
Los Angeles / Jan 27 - Feb 2 / LA Art fair signing Jan. 27th, prepare for spring shows
New York / Feb. 3 - 8 / install at Whitney sculpture court
Austin / Feb 8 - Feb 10 / Edible Estates workshop #3 / lecture at Austin AIA Feb 9
NYC / Feb 10 - Mar 12 installation & opening of Whitney Biennial March 4, NYPL March 7th
Austin / Mar 12 - 17 / closing of Edible Estates show / planting of Edible Estates #5: Austin March 14-16
NYC / Mar 17 - 26 / Animal Estate Whitney workshops / events at the Armory March 22
Los Angeles / Mar 26 - 29 / Fullerton Arboretum lecture & MOCA PDC event for Edible Estates book, Mar 29
Cleveland / Mar 30 - April 1 / lecture at Cleveland Institute of Art / March 31
NYC / April 2 - 9 / Animal Estate Whitney workshops
Baltimore / April 8 - 14 / lecture & Edible Estates planting
Cambridge / April 14 - 20 / MIT CAVS fellow / lecture April 16 / workshop April 18 / establish Animal Estate # 3.0
NYC / April 20 - 22 / Animal Estate Whitney workshops
Indianapolis / April 22 - 27 / lecture / Parade April 26
NYC / April 27 - May 4 / Animal Estate Whitney workshops, NJ lecture, Apr. 30th
Los Angeles / May 4-9th
NYC / May 9-12th / brooklyn designs lecture / Whitney Biennial events
Los Angeles / May 12-17th / Descanso planting may 14-16, calarts visit may 15, descanso talk, May 17
NYC / May 17-20th / Animal Estate Whitney workshops / ICFF keynote address May 19
Los Angeles / May 20-25th / Descanso planting may 14-16, calarts visit may 15, descanso talk, May 17
San Francisco / May 25-28th
Baltimore / May 28th - June 1st / install show, museum opening May 31
Los Angeles / June 1 - 11
San Francisco / June 11 - 18
Utrecht / June 18 - 25 / research for show at Casco
Amsterdam / June 25th / lecture at Smart Project Space
London / June 25th - July 2nd / London Festival of Architecture events
San Francisco / July / SF MoMA residency, show and projects
Minneapolis / August
Portland, OR / August / city wide project installations for exhibition at Cooley gallery at Reed College
Utrecht / Aug - Sept / install exhibition at Casco Projects, opens Sept. 12
Los Angeles / Sep 29 - Oct 2 / new seasonal planting of Edible Estates demo garden at Decanso Gardens
Reno / Oct 2 - 5 / Nevada Museum of Art / lecture / book event
Anchorage / Oct 5 - 7 / Alaska Design Forum lecture / Oct 6
Fairbanks / Oct 7 - 8 / Alaska Design Forum lecture / Oct 7
Juneau / October 8 -11 / Alaska Design Forum lecture / Oct 8
Ann Arbor / Nov 9-11 / lectures
A project by Fritz Haeg
Editor and Publisher: Diana Murphy, Metropolis Books
Book design: Kimberly Varella at Department of Graphic Sciences
Introduction: Fritz Haeg
Forward: Diana Balmori
Essays: Rosalind Creasy, Fritz Haeg, Michael Pollan, and Lesley Stern
Regional Prototype Garden #1: Salina, Kansas
Photography: Fritz Haeg, Priti Cox and Dale Cole
Story: Stan Cox {author of the forthcoming book Sick Planet}
Regional Prototype Garden #2: Lakewood, California
Photography: Taidgh O'Neill and Fritz Haeg
Story: Michael Foti
Regional Prototype Garden #3: Maplewood, New Jersey
Photography: Ed Morris and Curtis Hamilton, Canary Project and Fritz Haeg
Story: Michelle Christman
Regional Prototype Garden #4: London, England
Story: Fritz Haeg
Photography: Heiko Prigge and Fritz Haeg
press inquiries
assistant@fritzhaeg.com
download press release for the Edible Estates book here (pdf)
download collected past Edible Estates press here (pdf)