For the past seven or eight years, we've had a vegetable garden in our front yard. It's a practicality issue - the backyard is far too shady. In the last few years, I've made a truce with the many flowers that sprout up and intermingle with the eggplant, beets and beans. Flowers are now very welcome. They also attract bees of all varieties that seem to enjoy pollinating my vegetables as much as they do the flowers.
Besides attracting honeybees, the conversations that you have while weeding, with walkers and cyclists who stop to chat, are great. Also, many of them don't mind taking a zucchini or some beets home with them. Fantastic!
Lately, there seems to be a new push for an "urban homestead" mentality. I like it. The rising price of fuel, scarcity of water and disconnect from where we get our food has driven much of this. It would be cool to have some bee hives in our yard, and more fruit trees.
Mayor Verner has been taking a lot of heat for her water conservation platform. I don't think the Spokesman-Review did her any favors in the way they framed her stance. But hey, they have never really liked Mary and that's how they do business. The letters to the editor have been especially angry. Cha ching!
Rumor is Mary has received some telephone threats against her person regarding her desire to move Spokane toward common sense in its water usage. I am sure the threats have been anonymous. Oh well, I am sure these irrational bullies are a miserable lot - no matter what.
All to say, putting in a vegetable/flower garden in your front yard is a great way to meet neighbors, save water, enjoy good food and do something "commonsensical" in a society that has, for a long time, favored the detrimental "nonsensical." Our dwindling bee population will thank you too.
If some of these anonymous cowards spent more time pulling weeds in their own garden - making it a better place, maybe they would think twice before threatening people who want to make Spokane a better place.