Lawn or Edible Estate?
Descanso Invites You to Decide

Inputs & Outputs

Artist Fritz Haeg and Descanso’s Executive Director David Brown discuss plans for the Edible Estates Demonstration Garden.

Artist Fritz Haeg challenges dwellers to rethink their idea of what a front yard should be in his newest Edible Estates Demonstration Garden at Descanso Gardens. Beginning Jan. 10 and continuing through this fall, the Garden’s Center Circle area will present two possibilities: a typical lawn and an edible garden. Both examples spread outward from the structure of a house, which also serves as an interpretive center. Visitors are invited to watch the young, freshly planted edible garden grow, evolve and produce a harvest while also monitoring the environmental and social effects of the lawn.

Artist Fritz Haeg shares his plans for the house structure which separates the edible garden from the standard lawn and also serves as an interpretive center for the project.

Descanso’s horticulture team will measure and record the input and output needed for the lawn and edible garden. Input variables will include water, time, fertilizer and gasoline for the mower. Output measurements will consist of grass clippings, fruits, vegetables, gas emissions, aesthetics, etc. Photos will be taken weekly from fixed points and compiled at the end of summer so visitors can see the progress over time. The goal is to stimulate conversation about land use and allocation of resources. Descanso plans to share the details so that visitors can learn more about the options available.

Framework for the house begins on Dec. 28, 2007.

Initially, the edible garden will be planted for the cool season and changed as the weather warms up. It will have a rich variety of edible plants, including herbs, vegetables, vines and tubers. There will be raised beds, wire trellises and bamboo supports on which plants can sprawl, climb, spill and cover. Paths will meander through the plants and wildlife. Birds, bees

and insects will be encouraged to live & work there. Local students will observe and record the biodiversity within the garden over a period of time. Their observations will be shared with the public so we can all learn which birds and insects inhabit and visit the garden.

Weathercaster Fritz Coleman interviews David Brown, Descanso's executive director, as part of the Channel 4 News on KNBC (April 25, 2008).

An architect by training but often a gardener in practice, Fritz Haeg has developed several Edible Estates Initiatives as living art installations in which he transforms a typical front lawn into an edible oasis. His book, “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn,” comes out in February.

Revisit this page for current information on the project. Beginning Jan. 18, KCET will also stream videos of the project, plus strategies for domestic food gardening and an interview with Fritz Haeg, on its new Web Stories feature: “Sustaining L.A.” at www.kcet.org/webstories. To learn more about Fritz Haeg and Edible Estates, go to www.edibleestates.org.

Recent Photos in Chronological Order

Work nears completion on Jan. 9, 2008.
Jan. 11, 2008.
Jan. 11, 2008.
Jan. 18, 2008.
Jan. 18, 2008.
Jan. 18, 2008.
Jan. 18, 2008.
Jan. 28, 2008.
February 4, 2008
February 15, 2008
Pea flower on Edible Estate, March 3, 2008
Lizard visiting Edible Estate, March 3, 2008
Edible Estate, March 7, 2008
Strawberries, March 7, 2008
Edible Estate, March 7, 2008
Edible Estate, nectarine blossom, "Gold Mine," March 17, 2008
Edible Estate, March 17, 2008
Edible Estate, April 4, 2008
Edible Estate, April 4, 2008
Edible Estate, April 11, 2008
Edible Estate, April 18, 2008
Edible Estate, April 25, 2008
Edible Estate, April 25, 2008 - German chamomile, Matricaria recutita, used in tea and as medicine.
Edible Estate, May 2, 2008
Edible Estate, May 2, 2008
Edible Estate, May 2, 2008