Just a few weeks after garden writer Anne Raver of the New York Times interviewed a UC Cooperative Extension advisor about blueberries (as reported in this blog entry), she looked westward again for more insight on home gardening. Raver contacted UC Cooperative Extension horticulture and 4-H advisor Rose Hayden-Smith to get a historical perspective on gardening for today's column.
Raver reported on what must have seemed a preposterous suggestion from kitchen gardener and activist Roger Doiron. He wants the President of the United States to cultivate a garden on the White House lawn. Hayden-Smith said it wouldn't be the first time.
The nation's second president, John Adams, planted a vegetable garden at the White House to feed his family, Hayden-Smith explained “because back then, presidents had to fund their own household,” according to the story.
During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson had sheep grazing on the White House lawn. His wife planted vegetables to inspire the Liberty Garden (later changed to Victory Garden) campaign.
Just after Pearl Harbor, Hayden-Smith told the reporter, another Victory Garden campaign was started and Eleanor Roosevelt grew peas and carrots on the White House lawn. By the end of World War II, "Americans were producing 40 percent of the country’s produce” in their gardens, Hayden-Smith was quoted.