Back to Front

Back to Front is a community organization set up to promote food growing in front gardens so that they ‘look good and taste better’.

The scheme was initially inspired by the Bangladeshi people of Leeds who often used their front gardens to grow spinach, beans, pumpkins, garlic and coriander. There was such a contrast between these edible gardens and some of the gardens next door, which could be at best, laid with a finely manicured lawn and at worst, used as a dumping ground for rubbish, old tires and furniture.

Front garden growing improves the look and feel of your street and is super-convenient for growers. But Back to Front gardening is much more than this; it is about how neighbors talk and share and grow together as communities.

SOURCE: www.backtofront.org.uk/

EDITOR’S NOTE: Housing in Leeds central suburbs is mostly comprised of terraced housing with a front and back garden or back-to-back terraces with only one small front garden. The majority of these don’t get utilized and often become paved over or completely abandoned. This scheme not only encourages the growing of vegetables here, but it also improves the street space for all and encourages community engagement and communication.