Front Yard Transition
As of 2026, Lady Flower Gardens (LFG) is transitioning from a rural 1-acre lot to smaller gardens in several different communities across North East Edmonton. Through Front Yard Revolution Edmonton (FYRE), we want to generate a movement. The goal is to create front-yard garden plots for communities to grow food for each other and local food banks. The activities that took place at LFG will continue throughout the city at these front-yard gardens where people can learn valuable skills in growing vegetables and working at improving soil while building community to promote physical, mental, and social well-being. FYRE Gardens will rely on a hybrid of regenerative agriculture (a system of no-tilling, using little water, limited fertilizer and pesticide usage), and organic growing methods.
These garden plots will be maintained in joint effort by FYRE staff and the homeowners; FYRE staff will be showing the FYRE Gardeners best practice to have a luscious produce garden to best prepare Gardeners to manage the garden plot on their own. Households will provide the water and probably around an hour of work per day, averaging 7 hours per week, depending on what the season demands, likely to be spent on watering and weeding. Together, FYRE staff and Gardeners will donate at least half of the product grown towards local food banks, with a portion of the produce to be set aside to be enjoyed by the landowners! If the FYRE Gardener's household is leaving the garden for a period of time (on vacation, for example), they will be responsible for organizing someone to care for the garden while they are away. This is one reason why we are hoping for many FYRE Gardens to be nearby each other, firstly so that we can easily reach many Gardens in one trip, and also so that FYRE Gardeners can share insights, challenges, and the workload where necessary. During the first year a new front yard joins, the FYRE staff would be in-person at the Gardens weekly as necessary and provide all the plants and seeds. The next year the household would still receive help from the FYRE staff and plants and seeds at a discount. The third year the household would take over the labour but could still benefit from discounted plants with their membership. The membership fee would decrease as the support decreases.
Please note, in line with timing preferences of the household, and staff would only show up when it had been predetermined that they would be there -- we will not show up unannounced.
The cost of joining FYRE will be low, and as we are just getting started we do not have an exact value yet; this year we are trying to figure out what price we should charge. FYRE staff labour will hopefully be donation- or grant-based, but other costs will include the price of seeds (hopefully would be offset by donations and buying in bulk), shipping, rental costs of equipment (such as the sod cutter). We don't know yet what that cost will be per year, because we are just getting started -- this year we are learning what price we should charge. The cost for the first year will likely be between $200-300 depending on the size of the land being transformed and maintained. This cost is not for our profit, but exclusively to offset our purchasing costs. From year to year, this start up fee may change depending on what our costs are and how much we get in donations. As we get more information, we will give more information -- we are learning together!
The transition of a front yard to a FYRE Garden is intended to be a permanent change. We will sign yearly contracts with homeowners, and if the project is not working out as the FYRE Gardener hoped they can easily leave the project by not signing a contract for the next year. However, please note that we will not be returning the front yard to its former state if the homeowner does not want it as a FYRE Garden anymore.
The hope of the project is to develop many small front yard gardens throughout the city to provide community-based support of local food banks, including on lands owned by agencies serving vulnerable communities who often rely on the food bank. We are really hoping to partner with agencies who have housing with supports as part of their program and for these gardens there will be no charge.
We hope to extend this knowledge to a broader community through educational videos posted to social media. These FYRE Gardens have the potential to address food security, build fellowship, boost physical and mental well-being, and aid the planet through growing sustainable food together.
These garden plots will be maintained in joint effort by FYRE staff and the homeowners; FYRE staff will be showing the FYRE Gardeners best practice to have a luscious produce garden to best prepare Gardeners to manage the garden plot on their own. Households will provide the water and probably around an hour of work per day, averaging 7 hours per week, depending on what the season demands, likely to be spent on watering and weeding. Together, FYRE staff and Gardeners will donate at least half of the product grown towards local food banks, with a portion of the produce to be set aside to be enjoyed by the landowners! If the FYRE Gardener's household is leaving the garden for a period of time (on vacation, for example), they will be responsible for organizing someone to care for the garden while they are away. This is one reason why we are hoping for many FYRE Gardens to be nearby each other, firstly so that we can easily reach many Gardens in one trip, and also so that FYRE Gardeners can share insights, challenges, and the workload where necessary. During the first year a new front yard joins, the FYRE staff would be in-person at the Gardens weekly as necessary and provide all the plants and seeds. The next year the household would still receive help from the FYRE staff and plants and seeds at a discount. The third year the household would take over the labour but could still benefit from discounted plants with their membership. The membership fee would decrease as the support decreases.
Please note, in line with timing preferences of the household, and staff would only show up when it had been predetermined that they would be there -- we will not show up unannounced.
The cost of joining FYRE will be low, and as we are just getting started we do not have an exact value yet; this year we are trying to figure out what price we should charge. FYRE staff labour will hopefully be donation- or grant-based, but other costs will include the price of seeds (hopefully would be offset by donations and buying in bulk), shipping, rental costs of equipment (such as the sod cutter). We don't know yet what that cost will be per year, because we are just getting started -- this year we are learning what price we should charge. The cost for the first year will likely be between $200-300 depending on the size of the land being transformed and maintained. This cost is not for our profit, but exclusively to offset our purchasing costs. From year to year, this start up fee may change depending on what our costs are and how much we get in donations. As we get more information, we will give more information -- we are learning together!
The transition of a front yard to a FYRE Garden is intended to be a permanent change. We will sign yearly contracts with homeowners, and if the project is not working out as the FYRE Gardener hoped they can easily leave the project by not signing a contract for the next year. However, please note that we will not be returning the front yard to its former state if the homeowner does not want it as a FYRE Garden anymore.
The hope of the project is to develop many small front yard gardens throughout the city to provide community-based support of local food banks, including on lands owned by agencies serving vulnerable communities who often rely on the food bank. We are really hoping to partner with agencies who have housing with supports as part of their program and for these gardens there will be no charge.
We hope to extend this knowledge to a broader community through educational videos posted to social media. These FYRE Gardens have the potential to address food security, build fellowship, boost physical and mental well-being, and aid the planet through growing sustainable food together.
Setting up the gardens
Preference is to front yards that are south-, west-, or east-facing (north-facing is hardest due to limited sun), with a specific focus in Northeast Edmonton. We cannot justify travel further into the city due to time and financial constraints - our greenhouse and staging area are located near Fort Saskatchewan.
The general timeline for each garden plot would be as follows:
The general timeline for each garden plot would be as follows:
- In the first year, a front yard is transformed into garden space. The grass would need to be torn up and removed with a sod-cutter, the earth would be rototilled, and either a cover crop or vegetables would be planted. Having plant coverage on the earth is important to limit erosion, retain water, and put nutrients back into the soil. The most desirable option is that we can plant vegetables right away, however if you join the garden later than June, for example, there may not be enough time left in the season to plant veggies, and therefore a cover crop will be seeded instead to help prepare the ground for the next season. This first year, everything would be brought to the gardens, and if FYRE Gardeners want to plant more on their own they are welcome to do so.
- The next year, the front yard gardens would receive some top dressing of compost before planting vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, onions, leeks, hot peppers, carrots, green beans, and peas and of course flowers! FYRE staff would be helping weed, manage watering requirements, and organizing runs of product to food banks while educating landowners on these processes.
- By the third year, the hope is that the landowners would be able to take on the responsibility of caring for the garden onto themselves, using FYRE staff and neighbour contacts as a helpline for questions or concerns. Another way for FYRE gardeners to find help or inspiration is from the YouTube channel, which will have detailed videos on ideal practices and problem-solving. Please feel free to use these videos as inspiration to run with the core ideas of FYRE in a different capacity outside the boundaries of this movement.
Long-term goals
We at FYRE dream that the baton would be passed on to agencies and low-income housing locations, allowing clients and residents to garden in community while serving local food banks. This has been Lady Flower Gardens' mission for 15 years, and we are hoping that it will continue through these FYRE gardens, joining with hard working agencies and gardeners who have served the Edmonton Food Bank continually for many years. We are hoping to support non-profit organizations in joining FYRE by offering our services for free and supplying a greater amount of help for the Gardeners where needed. Offering our services for free will rely on grants and donations to offset our own costs, but at the very least we will offer a discount to these groups. In working with these organizations we will expect participation from the beginning and all the way through, with continuous support from FYRE staff. This is offered to non-profits in the hope that they will incorporate those who rely on their organization to be able to participate in a community gardening project on their own land.
In the beginning, FYRE will be a little clunky because we’re just starting, but we’ll try to be transparent as we move forward through all the twists and turns. We dream that FYRE will be a movement that ignites and spreads around the Edmonton area and beyond.
In the beginning, FYRE will be a little clunky because we’re just starting, but we’ll try to be transparent as we move forward through all the twists and turns. We dream that FYRE will be a movement that ignites and spreads around the Edmonton area and beyond.