Don't Fence Me In

It's been fun to plan out, plant, and tend a brand new garden, and all the more so since we decided to put it in the front yard. Indeed, as predicted by the "Food, Not Lawns" philosophy, I have met more of our neighbors in the past three months of working on this garden than I did in the six years since we moved in.

At first, I got alot of what felt like "uh, oh, there goes the neighborhood" looks. But since then, there have been an increasing number of friendly dog walkers, bike riders, and joggers who stop to chat, to shmooze about what we're growing, about the price of food in general due to the rise in corn prices and gas prices, and, as well, about other local issues.

A generation and more ago, goes the thinking, our grandparents had front porches where they'd sit outside in the summer; kids would play on the street in front of the house with the neighbors kids, and people would get to know each other. I can't confirm the veracity of that myth, but I am sure there is a great deal of truth to it.

What's for sure is that now anymore, the front lawn has become like the old English Manor lawn, tended, fertilized, watered, and certainly not walked- or played on. No, instead we build big back porches, screened in, or add nice metal gazebos cheaply purchased from the local hardware conglomerate. We sit in the rear of the house, only chatting with the people we've specifically invited. We play and socialize in the back yard, we fence in our yards to boot, and then wonder how it is that we don't know our neighbors.

It's time we get out from behind our literal and figurative fences and reconnect with the people around us.

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to build a fence to keep the deer from snacking on your tomatoes, that's fine. But why fence yourself off from humanity when you can learn so much from your neighbors about the latest gossip, or get tips about how to make the best compost, or just share in the common struggles of living in 2008? What is it that my kids sing incessantly from High School Musical? We're all in this together...