Less lawn and more garden

Mike Stambaugh weeds his thriving tomato plants on Greenwood Avenue. He turned his front yard into a vegetable garden two years ago and has plans to extend it to his backyard.   ¦  Katie Barnes/Missourian

Mike Stambaugh has had vegetables in his front yard for two years. He lives on Greenwood Avenue, in a neighborhood where most of the houses have a lawn carpeted with lush green grass.

“We thought about the fact that our front yard would be different, but I don’t like mowing the lawn anyway. I think mowing grass is a waste of life,” Stambaugh said.

So far, squash, tomatoes, herbs and peppers are thriving in the front yard, where he said there is much better sunlight than in the backyard.

“I plan on converting the entire front yard into a garden,” he said with a smile. “It’s much more fun to grow things than to have to cut the grass.”