Food not lawns : how to turn your yard into a garden and your neighborhood into a community / H.C. Flores ; foreword by Toby Hemenway ; illustrations by Jackie Holmstrom.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [326]-329) and index.

Combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens." This joyful lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise garden--simplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community--to all aspects of life. Plant "guerrilla gardens" in barren intersections and medians; organize community meals; start a street theater troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces. Flores cares passionately about the damaged state of our environment and our throwaway society. Here, she shows us how to reclaim the earth, one garden at a time.--From publisher description.

Free your lawn -- Gaining ground -- The water cycle -- The living soil -- Plants and polycultures -- Seed stewardship -- Ecological design -- Beyond the garden -- Into the community -- Reaching out -- Working together -- The next generation.