I have a grass free yard, save for a 10' x 3' patch in the back. It's soooo nice and easy to care for. You can weed a bit or trim if you feel like being outside, but there is not "every weekend" maintenance needed.

we just spent last Sunday ripping out the grass and weeds of the front yard of our row house (10'x15'). we spread weed-blocking fabric and covered it with mulch, then planted three blueberry bushes and three creeping rosemary plants. more perennials will come later. I'm looking forward to my low-maintenance front 'yard'!

Grass-free! I've been gradually ripping out all the grass in my front yard, and replacing it with native plants. Pretty, doesn't require watering, and draws the bees, butterflies and birds to my yard, which is good for the veggie garden in the backyard.

Disrupting the symmetry of the neighborhood can be a good thing if done well. Plus, if your neighbors like yours they may end up doing the same. I wouldn't put food in the front yard because that's just weird, though.

Grass no, Veggies yes! Check out a permaculture book from the library. You don't necessarily have to rip out the lawn.

It all depends on the level of involvement you want, but definitely get some plants in there, girl! ASAP - if you're getting half of the rain we are, plants will help filter all that water. Otherwise, it just gets polluted as runoff and goes through the treatment process. Blech. If you go with grass, select something tough. Many go brown in the height of the summer as a defense. When it gets cooler and wetter again, they perk right back up. If you decide not to water during the dormancy phase, don't sprinkle it here and there. The inconsistency confuses it. Aaaaaaanyway - so fun to have so many choices! Combine 'em all. :-)

My wife removed out front lawn almost two years ago now and replaced it with veggies. It looks great and is much more fun to hang out in and spend time working in. Not to mention it provides food.

Here is a link to her garden blog

http://kitchen-55.com

We are loving our lawnless front garden. While I think food in the front is cool, I've yet to have a beautiful veggie garden so I'm saving room in the backyard for that. Low maintenance is best for us. We broke up the symmetry of the block, but we are on a slight curve in the street and are fortunate that a house about 8 doors down broke the ice with a design that I adore. I knocked on their door and found that the new owner is a landscape designer. She made a plan for our yard and it is looking pretty good. Wish I could post a picture for you, actually!

YES! Grass-free. I cannot believe how much I've seen on this topic. I just read an article in Conservation Biology journal (from the 1990s) of a study conducted in Central America - it turns out that potagers or "kitchen gardens" provide several layers of vegetation similar to the forest, and several species of birds were found to use the properties and it also may help absorb pollution.

I'm working on grass free in the front yard as I type! I have a steep hill that leads up to a small flat area before hitting the patio. I killed most of the grass on the hill last year. I've been ripping out the deadstuff and weeks this spring and planting it with herbs and veggies. It's south facing and gets full sun all day long. Mint, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, and lavendar grow great there. I have tossed in a couple of tomatos and peppers and am getting ready to plant some strawberries. It smells wonderful and the neighbors don't seem to mind getting fresh herbs either. On the flat part, I'm planting a small formal rose garden that will have no grass. And beyond that, I will have a small square of raspberries and sunflowers.

For a front yard, you can do veggies and edibles but within more traditional beds rather than rows. I use edibles as landscaping materials. It's a great thing to do.

Yes, break the symmetry, lead the way!

half my garden is in the front yard, and we don't plant things i can't eat...

my front yard doesn't get enough sun to do the whole thing up in numminess, so we left the grass. besides, it would be difficult to sell if the whole front yard were a garden.

I came across an interesting grass-free yard during a walk in a SoCal neighborhood. At a distance, it looks like it's just another grassy front yard. But the closer we got, the more it was apparently not quite grass. Turns out it was some kind of succulent (a type of sedum?) that came out as short tendrils of green leaves (no brown), and covered the whole yard outside of the walkway. It looked really great. Maybe someday I'll go back and take a picture of it.

Yeay for corn in the front yard... growing up, my mom always did that, and even made it in the annual garden tours a few years.

Disrupt the symmetry!

@falnfenix, I'D buy it with a front-yard garden! Especially since I'm not much of a gardener, if I was in the market for a house (I'm not) and found one with an excellent front-yard garden, that would be a selling point (especially if the seller would give me a tour and ID everything).

Does anyone know the best way to kill the grass without harming the violets, etc? We keep ripping it out but the darn stuff just grows back and overtakes everything.

We are going "contained-native-prairie" with our very mammoth yard this year and we cannot wait! My husband installed a small raised bed on the side of our drive way two years ago and we're going to make nearly the entire side a fruit and vegetable garden.
I think it's the way to go -- less mowing, less watering and in a few years if you plant right it should be low maintenance.
Our entire neighborhood is very manicured, so we are definitely breaking the mold here -- however we're leaving a 24' patch in the center and our plantings are the clumping (not spreading) variety -- so it will have a "manicured" look, whilst still being every bit wild and native -- we can't wait. Very exciting!

I LOVE that fyg photo

If you are worried about getting a warning from your HOA, opt for a grass-free garden. Even the strictest HOA can't fault you for breaking up an endless row of flat green if your yard is a burst of bright blooms, whereas wilting corn might cause complaints from neighbors worried about property value. Save your yam-growing for the back yard where only the nosiest neighbors who look over your fence can raise their eyebrows, and the HOA only has jurisdiction if you are causing a health hazard.