A gardener is born.
In August of 2013, I moved from San Francisco, where I had lived for over 20 years, to Portland, Oregon. I moved in large part because I wanted to have a garden. One of my favorite childhood memories is of my father creating a planter box for me that he painted the words “Sandrine’s Strawberries” on in red, my favorite color. There we planted strawberries and the memory of my enjoying the fruits of my labor has stayed with me all of these years. Since the age of 25, I had lived in apartments, studios and a loft in San Francisco. I was eager to live in a home, in a much more affordable real estate market, with ample space to grow my own food. Below is a picture of the backyard as depicted by the real estate photograph at the time of purchase. 
Since I knew that we would be removing the lawn, I had let it become seriously overgrown as you’ll see below! It was “over the top” so Mohammad Naser trimmed it while visiting me in May of 2014. Soon thereafter, the lawn was removed, and the groundwork for irrigation was laid down. Mohammad and I were collaborating on a children’s book called The Adventures of Andrew Price while he was here.
Mohammad created drawings and a 3D illustration of the backyard space with a design that would be both functional and beautiful. I hired Grass Stains LLC to implement Mohammad’s design. The project took many more months and was much more expensive than anticipated. It was wrought with blood, sweat and tears. The process was reminiscent of giving birth to new life, or a new vision, which can include some pain. Happily, everyone involved has survived the birthing process and are all collectively delighted with the outcome. I had the existing pavers removed, and donated them to The Rebuilding Center here in Portland. New architectural slabs were installed as well as four raised beds created from bricks, topped with pool coping that serves as seating. Nutrient-rich organic soil, comprised of compost, top soil and sand was blown in by bark dusters. I also had cedar retaining walls built to create more planting space and a cedar fence replaced the existing one. We sealed the wood with non-toxic stain so that it dosen’t gray. Unfortunately, a maple tree that was in the middle of my yard needed to be cut down if I was going to have the south facing sun reach my planters. In addition, we removed some bushes and plants that no longer fit in the design.
If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it is and a dream it will stay. – Theodor Herzl
I started to plant in April of 2015. My vision was to grow fruits and vegetables, herbs and flowers. I have taken a number of classes at the Portland Nursery and purchased virtually all of my plants and trees there. I am incredibly grateful to George Bowman, store manager of the Portland Nursery on Division Street for being a mentor to me every step. 
On July 16, 2015, I celebrated 50 years of life. On July 18, I invited friends and family to join me in my garden for my first garden party. At that point, I had already enjoyed 3 different kinds of tomatoes, 6 different kinds of blueberries, shallots, 2 different kinds of lettuce, mint, thyme, parsley, and basil that I planted, nurtured and harvested myself for the very first time! On the way is 2 more different kinds of lettuce, 3 different kinds of sweet peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and Blue Lake green beans. They’ll also be many more tomatoes, blueberries and all the herbs. I have planted an espalier apple tree I named Eden, which has been grafted with 5 different kinds of apples that I hope to eat next year. I planted a number of flowers that specifically attract hummingbirds and bees, and indeed, they visit daily. Click on the photos below to see a large version which show details of the garden!
Recommended books via our Amazon affiliation:
- The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible
- The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control: A Complete Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Garden and Yard the Earth-Friendly Way
- The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!
- Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
Nourishing Our Children 
11 Responses to Grow Food, Not Lawns
Beautiful garden we’re in the process of converting our garden. Just 2 beds currently & some pots harvesting french beans, chard, golden beets currently & waiting on the tomatoes, carrots, scallions & rocket. My 3 year old is loving learning about growing & nature whilst tentatively attempting to eat the product of his labours
[…] Source: Grow Food, Not Lawns | Nourishing Our Children Blog […]
What a wonderful and life-giving accomplishment!! It is so much fun to see the transformation! Congrats and I know you will enjoy many years during which time your backyard and garden continue to give back to you. :)
Congratulations, Sandrine. I envy your tenacity, patience….and accomplishment. I have long thought of doing something similar, and not gotten around to doing it–you give inspiration. One Q: Is there a practical reason related to plant health to have raised beds, or is it more for aesthetics and convenience (don’t have to bend as much)? Best wishes for ongoing success with it.
David, the native soil in Portland is very hard clay soil that needs to be heavily amended. Also, in my case, I knew that the lawn had been treated with chemicals and I wanted an organic garden. Raised beds are extremely common and popular as a result. A raised bed can be filled with soft, well nourished, organic soil that is easy to plant in. Most raised beds in Portland I see are made of wood, but I wanted the raised beds to offer seating as well, and to have a longer life than wood would offer. I will be hosting a Weston A. Price Foundation chapter event next month, and my garden space can fit 48 people around the raised beds. http://evite.me/hjKsD1ZNkA.
So beautiful and lovely, a space to enjoy company, sunshine, and food! I am looking forward to seeing it in person! I hope you have many years of enjoyment, love, and food from this yard!
Raine, I a so eager for you to visit! My guest room awaits you!
Wow, that is a beautiful backyard. Nice work! Have you heard of the Back To Eden method? Basically if you cover your gardens with about 4 inches of fresh woodchips, then you won’t need to water at all, you’ll have virtually no weeds, and your soil will be much more fertile. Of course, since you were starting from scratch, you were able to do nice built-in irrigation, but it’s really nice to not have to irrigate at all.
I love those big square floor tiles/pavers, but why not leave that part as grass? Then you’d be letting rainfall soak into the ground, instead of having to send it somewhere else as runoff. But then again, your design looks much nicer than grass, and is much easier to maintain…
Sandrine, this is beautiful!!!!
Although very nice looking, it’s sad the yard had to be destroyed. Some plants can fix “chemical treatments”, The garden sizes are more “hobby” sizes. The whole back yard could have been used a lot better for a much much much lower price. But this is “gardening” in big cities. Spending thousands for someone to come in and lay down stone, put in some raised beds, so you can have the “appearance” of living frugal. In reality those stones keep water from getting into the soil. Allowing the chemicals to sit stagnant. In time if anyone decides to pull them up, the ground underneath will most likely be rock hard and un-usable to even grow grass without even more chemicals.
Looks “pretty”, but not at all what is meant by “Grow food, not lawns” initiative.
Jeff, I disagree. I am definitely growing food and not a lawn. My goal was not to appear to live frugally. My goal was to garden, and saving money wasn’t at that heart of that inanition either. Considering the cost of soil, water, amendments, fertilizer, and time … I don’t know that I would save even if I hadn’t built the raised beds. A head of lettuce still likely costs me less at the local farmers market.
Clearly, each of us is free to choose what serves their unique needs. I live alone and don’t have the capacity to comfortably eat all that I am growing already and I haven’t even filled all the space available with food. I wanted a backyard I could gather community in and have events in, so I wanted raised beds that would give me an ample amount of built-in seating. I also wanted patio space for a table, lounge chair and umbrellas. This space fits my needs very well. The ground under the previous grass was already hard as a rock before we added the pavers, almost 2 years past since chemicals were used on my property.