According to Fritz Haeg - the architect/artist/educator who left his geodesic dome in L.A. on a road trip aimed at revolutionizing America's front yards - the lawn must go! His mission is to replace these latent throwbacks to the American Dreamscape of post-war suburbia with vegetable gardens, which he calls Edible Estates.

Starting in the heartland of America, Salina, Kansas, he has mounted 6 projects so far, with three more in the planning stage. In Lakewood, California; Maplewood, New Jersey; London England; Austin Texas and Baltimore, Maryland, he secured funding and sponsorship by local institutions to create beautifully sculpted gardens for homeowners who had previously hidden their garden plots in the back yard. The search for a site in New York City is underway and Haeg, who has written a book called "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn," will give a talk in Brooklyn this Saturday.

In an interview with Creative Time's Nato Thompson, Haeg said, "With the Edible Estates regional prototype gardens I am removing toxic, polluting, water-guzzling no-man's-land spaces and replacing them with productive edible gardens. People are back on the streets reconnected to their local ecology, food and neighbors.

Edible Estates, left to right: Maplewood, New Jersey; Bankside, London; Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles. Photos: fritzhaeg.com

"But in some neighborhoods," he continued, "it is a very provocative gesture that is upsetting." For people who use their front yards to maintain a distance from the public passing by, he says, "just the act of spending an extended period of time outside with your hands in the dirt is a profoundly 'deviant' act! We can get anything we need at the store, right? Why are we still mucking around in the dirt?"

As part of the 6^th annual BKLYN DESIGNS fair in Dumbo this weekend, Fritz Haeg will read from his new book, which includes essays by author Michael Pollan and landscape architect Diana Balmori, among others. Susan Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis magazine will introduce Haeg on Saturday May 10 at noon, at St. Ann's Warehouse. This event is free with admission to BKLYN DESIGNS.

Haeg's latest environmental project is "Animal Estates." The first installment, inspired by the creatures that inhabited what is now Manhattan in pre-colonial times, can be seen in the Whitney Museum courtyard as part of the 2008 Biennale, which runs through June 1. In addition, the Edible Estates Demonstration Garden at Descanso Gardens, near Los Angeles, will be open through Fall 2008.