LUXURY: Fritz Haeg
Instead of viewing the lawn as a desirable sign of wealth and privilege, Fritz Haeg perceives it as evidence of waste and destruction. Haeg comments, “most lawns are only occupied when they are being tended.” He does more than question this emblem of “the fat of the land” in a culture of luxury. His art practice includes transforming examples of the endless green carpet of conformity into diverse and productive gardens. Edible Estates are prototype gardens that he is installing in sites where suburbia and its unproductive landscaping conventions prevail.

Haeg advertises the opportunity to participate in his project by stating that he is seeking “skilled, eager and adventurous occupants of one conventional American house on a typical street of endless sprawling lawns.” He then explains that these citizens will bravely violate the “toxic uniformity” of neighborhood lawns fed on diets of chemical fertilizers and herbicides by committing to the “indefinite cultivation of fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs for all neighbors and car traffic to see.”

Haeg identifies an irony imbedded in applying the term “fat of the land” to land used for lawns. On the one hand it “signals so much bounty that we leave some land just for ornamental visual pleasure.” On the other hand, there is growing concern regarding scarcity, “We are slowly realizing that the natural resources are not as limitless as we originally assumed. My project, Edible Estates … shows that we can literally eat from the land that surrounds us.” It invites suburbanites to take advantage of the wasted ecological opportunities available wherever lawns grow. Sunshine and rain are horticultural treasures. Soil and its microorganisms in yards are miracle workers. These valuable resources arrive free of charge. Instead of growing grass, grow food.

Fritz Haeg
Edible Estates: Edition #1 Edible garden in front yard of private residence, Salina, Kansas
2005