"Over by the In-and-Out Burger."

Finally got a chance to see Homegrown, a short film following the Dervaes family's attempt to live a low impact, self-sufficient, Little House On the Prairie lifestyle - on a 1/5 acre lot smack dab in the middle of L.A. Sounds like prime blog material, right?

As the product of a similar urban situation, I was encouraged by Papa Dervaes' success. Something crazy like 6,000+ pounds of produce! And only after 3 years. Think about that. In 36 months, his house went from pain-in-the-ass, weekly mowed, relatively useless American front yard, to a working, edible landscape.

Granted, the Dervaes family devotes all their energy to their household. Odds are, the average Jeff Goldblum isn't going to cut short his miraculous big screen career to start tending his bok choy beds. But what if everybody eased up on their definition of the "perfect yard" a smidge to the point we wouldn't dub Mr. Dervaes a "nut?" Or at least not make a movie about his yard.

What's so sacred about a giant, trimmed green rectangle anyway? Usable space? Try again. When was the last time you saw your parents host a flag football tournament with their friends in the back yard? Throw some native grasses out there and let the thing go, Pops. Maybe go crazy with a few rows of corn and wine grapes. Or goats.

There are countless superior alternatives out there, both economically and ecologically. Xeriscapes, permaculture, formal gardens, forest settings, wildflower drifts, native prairie grasses. Plenty of job opportunities for me and my classmates should the average American quit listening to Scott's commercials...