Front-yard garden causes stir in suburb

OAK PARK (AP) -- A suburban Detroit woman's front-yard vegetable garden has caused a stir after she was cited for violating city rules about landscaping. The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press report Julie Bass was cited last month for violating an ordinance in Oak Park that requires grass, ground cover, shrubbery or other "suitable live plant material." She's fighting the citation, and a hearing is July 26. Though the misdemeanor carries the possibility of 93 days in jail, Oak Park Mayor Gerry Naftaly says Bass won't be put behind bars. He says he and the City Council could reconsider the ordinance if residents and local organizations say the city should allow such gardens. Bass and her husband put in raised garden beds after digging up the yard to replace a sewer pipe. Published: Fri, Jul 15, 2011