Comments on: Reclaim Your Front Garden From the Public – and integrate it into your living space

By: Christiane Holmquist

Christiane Holmquist — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:26:50 +0000

Your point is well taken, and the pictures on your own blog are very interesting. I am happy for you that you live in an area where people walk by and interact with you, and that a community feeling can be created.
I wrote my piece from the standpoint of a designer who sees mostly yawning empty front gardens, where due to the setback regulations a lot of valuable real-estate is given over to the (up to now not much questioned) lawn and obligatory foundation shrubs. For really the vast majority of people the front garden is a must-have, not must-use: The more private usages are all taking place in the back garden. I like to invite people to use their front gardens more rather than driving by them into their garages – be it for an informal gathering space or a more private area. And yet – I always tend to suggest to create SOME privacy – even it is only a trellis with a pretty vine, or a few lacey shrubs. Not to shut people out but to provide some sense of ownership.

By: Christiane Holmquist

Christiane Holmquist — Sat, 22 May 2010 04:13:05 +0000

Hi, did I understand you correctly that you were saying front driveways in the UK need to be of permeable surface in order to allow for rainwater to get into the ground? so is this law designed with the water supply in mind? At any rate this is a law that to my knowledge doesn’t exist in California (perhaps in a few other water-strapped states), and I deplore it: I watch so much rainwater go into the storm drains (and then into the ocean) which leads to sinking aquifers and water tables, and a general drying off of land: seasonal creeks disappearing, cities measuring rising temperatures of up to 10 degrees (or more?)
so don’t get me started… To my knowledge in some cities here there are ordinances now to make large (commercial) parking lots of permeable material; the residential areas lag behind.

By: Katrina

Katrina — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:44:48 +0000

Great article, there is a new law in the UK about making front driveways of permeable surfaces due to the amountof front gardens disappearing to make way for off street parking, this maynot be sucha problem in the States as you have a lot more space.

By: Martine Holmquist

Martine Holmquist — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:22:49 +0000

Gawd I can’t believe the next people that moved there were so dense as to remove everything and put lawn there again!!! I was so shocked to see it again later I cried!! To think- there was a park- an expanse of lawn and nothing else ACROSS THE STREET!! I think you forgot to mention that- that the lawn was a direct mirror and extension of the super public park right across the street, it made our house look like the park dept.’s tool shed. It makes me mad and sad.