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My first initiative was to convert the carport into living space. A friend and I reframed an existing wall, closed in the north end, heavily insulated the walls, and opened up the south end with an eight-foot- (2.4-meter-) wide sliding-glass door. Thanks to the passive solar input all that glass provides, on sunny winter days I can turn off the electric heat for the afternoon and early evening. As another sleeping space, the added room also increases the property's residential density.

The house also has a sizable sun room, a closed-in patio with 35 feet (11 meters) of glass walls. I believe every house should have a sun room. The space is not artificially heated, but on sunny days, even in January, it can be comfortable with only the solar input. The sun room's minimum temperature has never fallen below 40 degrees (4 degrees Centigrade) even when it's been well below freezing outside. I intend to rebuild the sunroom in the future to improve its already considerable aesthetic and thermal qualities.

There were other early changes. Rain from the roof is now directed into two 1600-gallon (6000-liter) vinyl tanks, where it is stored for irrigation. The house has a solar water heater.

Another early project was to cut back the oversized five-car driveway. A friend and I rented a concrete saw and cut the unreinforced 4-inch- (10-centimeter-) thick concrete into reusable rectangular shapes. Better use is now made of the driveway space, and the concrete pieces are great for landscaping.

Making an Edible Landscape

Food production has been a primary goal for my piece of the earth's surface. Being vegetarian makes satisfying my dietary needs a lot easier. Complete food self-sufficiency is not possible on my lot, but growing and storing an appreciable amount of food is pretty simple. During most of the year I don't need to buy fruit or vegetables. Food plants are also attractive for landscaping.

Before I began the conversion, the front and back yards were both covered with typical suburban grass, which I wanted to do away with. This was fairly easy with sheet mulching. I covered the lawns with cardboard and placed six inches of leaves on top. After four or five months, the grass underneath was dead and the cardboard had, thanks in part to the damp Oregon climate, decomposed.

After mulching away the lawn, I replanted the front yard with raspberry canes, table grapes, and 35 blueberry bushes. Meanwhile, in the back yard we brought in chickens for soil enhancement, put in a large vegetable garden, and planted apple, peach, pear, and fig trees.

Those cut-up pieces of concrete driveway became a perfect construction material for another part of the conversion plan: small areas of native plant habitats in both the front and the back yards. These areas increase the biological diversity of the property and are pleasant to the eye. Blocks made from the former driveway form low walls in curving shapes. Along the walls and raised beds I planted ferns, vine maple, Indian plum, ocean spray, snowberry, currants, and other low-maintenance shrubs.

This spring I added two small ponds, one in the front yard and one in the back, to enhance the habitats. An imprint left over from a pipe formerly embedded in the concrete driveway forms an ideal location to place a hose, and a slow trickle makes its way into each pool with a musical sound.

The ponds have no outlet, but I do remove water on occasion for irrigation and then refill them. Water quality seems to be stable albeit a bit green. Dozens of small gambusia fish in each pool keep mosquitoes in check. Water features are beautiful and provide multiple functions.

Benefits beyond the Yard

Surburban renewal provides more than a powerful combination of food and beauty. Another link in the chain of benefits is enhancing local culture. Having interesting, creative, and healthy activities close to home provides benefits to social relationships, the neighborhood, and the environment.

My yard attracts curious friends, neighbors, and passers-by who want to learn more about my projects. The new front deck provides a social connection to the street. Visitors drop by, and they leave this place with new ideas about what they can do themselves.

Suburban renewal is the beginning of many chains of benefits. These strategies reduce one's impact on the environment. Home-grown food improves the diet and bypasses many unhealthy aspects of production and distribution.

Beauty and function can be designed into improvements such as habitat for wildlife or edible landscaping. A by-product in one place can become an asset somewhere else. The sense of satisfaction from combining pleasant form with practical function is a considerable bonus. These projects and ideas are easily shared.

Suburbia offers many opportunities that are now largely unrealized, chains of benefits to be discovered and enjoyed. Instead of being a low-density, car-dependent burden to the planet, with limited social interaction, it can be a place of food and energy production, beauty, and community.

Jan Spencer is an artist and suburban homeowner who is continuing his property conversion in Eugene, Oregon.

A small pool was built from pieces of concrete cut from an unwanted driveway. A deck presents a neighborly face to the street and offers a view of native plants and fruiting shrubs. Photo: Jan Spencer A before-conversion view of the backyard, an "underachieving" expanse of overgrown grass, later suppressed through sheet mulching. Photo: Jan Spencer The backyard after conversion, with chicken house, pool with small fish, vegetable garden, and fruit trees. Photo: Jan Spencer The backyard pool and former carport, now the author's comfortable living space, solar heated through the sliding glass door. Photo: Jan Spencer After two years of development, the backyard includes trellises to support tomatoes and winter squash plants, fruit trees along the fence line, and rain water barrels for irrigation. Photo: Jan Spencer The front yard with pool, berry plants, and cherry and nut trees. A water tank is obscured by the raspberry thicket. Photo: Jan Spencer A friend cuts the unnecessarily large driveway where the front pool and deck will be. The front lawn is being suffocated with a mulch of leaves and cardboard. Photo: Jan Spencer Fifteen months after cutting out most of the driveway, a green courtyard is developing behind the screen. The sidewalk to left is made of blocks from the driveway. A rain gutter collects irrigation water. Photo: Jan Spencer   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.