A Veggie Garden in the Front Yard?

I've been on a path of homesteading and self sufficiency for a while. In truth, before I got married I lived in north Ms. in the country.  The closest town was Oxford, Ms.  I love Oxford.  Anyway, my plan was to have a home that worked with and without electricity.  Even though I was knee deep in corp. America my alter ego was on the way to self sufficiency. Then my husband and kids and life sidetracked me.  Temporarily! Flash forward 11 years and I've been following great blogs that teach and inspire me.  I love this community of bloggers.

I created a design for a vegetable, herb and fruit garden in the front yard.  Earlier this year you might have read how I gave up the idea of a garden.  My backyard is lined with huge oaks that offer a full canopy and tons of shade.  So I'm thinking, "garden in the front and chickens in the back".

I have a huge front yard that gets full sun.  We have a ton of land by city standards.   A quarter of an acre to be exact.  I told Mike my idea and he didn't like it.  He gave me all kinds of arguments why we shouldn't.  It might bring in an unwelcome element.  What if there are vandals, what if someone steals the veggies? I shook my head, "what?"  Vandals, not safe, stealing?

We live in an older neighborhood with no HOA (thank God!)  our neighbors are either 40ish like us or elderly that have lived here forever.  The front is a very sandy dirt.  We're not one of those families that fuss over a perfect lawn. We don't waste water on it.  We even have a well we don't use because the pump rusted out.  Now I have a reason to have it replaced.

Just to be fair I have to explain my husband.  He grew up a city boy.  He never had a garden growing up in Ma. He's never lived in the country and until he started working in a tiny Florida town a few years ago, he didn't understand "country" .  So! Mike was against the idea. It was a wierd idea to him and didn't make sense.  He suggested I plant "shade" vegetables.  I started my propaganda machine showing him web sites, pictures, raised bed garden designs. He read articles and I found several on how folks are planting front yard gardens.  He's in!

I argue that if someone steals veggies they need it.  Vandals?  (lol!)  If no one vandelizes us now why would a garden compel them?   Maybe I'm an optimist but I think this thing just might work.  I know the older neighbors around me had to have had gardens when they were young.  I was at the grocery store yesterday and a older man that was bagging my things noticed my canning jars and asked if I was doing preserves.  Yes Sir.   He shared memories of being a boy in the 40's and grabbing an empty one to drink water out of.  Don't even get me started on the fact that a 73 year old man was bagging groceries!!! He should be enjoying retirement.  I didn't ask and said a prayer for him and hope he does it out of boredom.

Today I'm staking out my grid of where the boxes will be to measure for supplies to build the raised beds.  The ground is mostly sand and theres a lot of roots.  Plus I want the over all design to be aesthetically pleasing to neighbors that pass by everyday on their walks.  My camera is on the kaputz.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it freezes.  I'll post pictures of my progress when I can get it to work.

Please let me know what you think and being in Florida, what should I plant for the fall/winter?  I would love feedback.  In the meantime, it's going to be busy and I love it.
Peace to Everyone!