June 5, 2009

Front Yard Gardner



Published for less than a year, Front Yard Gardner was the creation of former truck farmer Malachi Dealcrest who lived outside Elkton, Florida. The small, 24-page magazine, was viewed by many in the landscape and lawn care business to be radical in its call for the replacement of well manicured lawns with vegetable gardens. Designers of gated neighborhoods and golf course centered communities saw the publication as a threat to their business and worked diligently to discredit Dealcrest who had for more than a dozen years traveled throughout north central Florida speaking to small groups about the excessive waste of resources, both natural and financial, driven by the uniformity of front lawns in planned communities.

The last issue, published in March 2006 (cover seen above) included three cover stories all written by Dealcreast himself:
- a feature on Anastasia Island grown Brussels sprouts, which he called “brussel sprouts,” leaning on the vernacular of north coastal Florida;
- a in-depth piece on controlling harmful insects and encouraging helpful ones by planting companion complementary flowers alongside vegetables; and
- an editorial essay on the philosophy behind his work titled “Turning Lawn into Lunch, and not caring what the neighbors think.”

By the spring of 2006, Dealcrest had exhausted his personal funds used to finance the publishing venture, and died at his home in Elkton shortly after the last issue was printed.