I've been wondering just what the "Victory" in today's "Victory Garden" is referring to...

Victory over our economic crisis?, over our ecological crisis?, over the wars of our time?..... I don't know. When I hear or read about people planting "Victory Gardens" in 2009, I just wonder how they might define any of those "victories" and how unlike our situation is compared to the World War that prompted the US Department of Agriculture to launch their "Victory Garden" program.

Claude R. Wickard, Secretary of Agriculture, defined it as such: "A Victory Garden is like a share in an airplane factory. It helps with the War and pays dividends too". So begins the 20 minute film produced by the US Government outlining their outreach and training program and showing how to plant a Victory Garden. Really quite fascinating. It covers every aspect of crop selection and yield, planting techniques, watering, and pest control. Honestly, I wouldn't want to follow the pest control portion of the program at all. Lots of chemicals! But that was then, when people had more land and that land had more moisture and chemicals were not thought to cause all manner of havoc on human life systems. Still, they had a mission, a reason to participate, a family to feed, and a clear definition of what their victory was. I admire them for what they did as a country-community. There were other gardening eras in our history.

Leslie Heimer, over at Sprouts in the Sidewalk, chronicles urban gardening periods in the United States. Give a visit as there are abundant photographs to assist in the visual journey through an overview of the History of Urban Agriculture in our country.

Potato Patches (1890 - 1930), City Beautification Movement (1890 - 1910), World War I Liberty Gardens (1917 - 1919), Depression Reilef Gardens (1930 - 1938), World War II Victory Gardens (1940 - 1945), Community Garden Movement (1960 - Present) all times had a common theme of creating community, growing locally to reduce transportation costs and feed families, and getting people involved to boost morale. They all also had one other thing in common: Hope.

Thanks Jules! I like how you put that..... "There's community gardens, there's container gardening, people do it on their balconies. Anything that says that we are growing our own food, says that we have hope". Yes, indeed it does!

Over at The Watershed Project, they've started a Hope Garden movement and encourage everyone to participate. I like their description:

"Anyone can create a Hope Garden. A fruit tree orchard, community vegetable garden, backyard herb garden, and a planter box of flowers are all examples of Hope Gardens. From a fully-staffed urban farm to a single tomato plant in your windowsill, there is a way for every person, regardless of the size of your home or bank account, to join the Hope Garden movement."

This appealed to me because it honors all those that have planted before and brings forward the common thread of all gardeners. Whatever their reasons or missions, anyone who plants a seed or waters their plant hopes it grows (or at least hopes they don't kill it). I do. Here's a printable garden marker for your Hope Garden.

With the First Lady, Michelle Obama, digging up the White House lawn for her "Kitchen Garden" to add some fresh produce to her table, to all the new gardeners out there this year, the thread of hope winds through the past into our future. We all hope to make a difference in family budgets and diets and, in a larger sense, to our planet. I hope so!

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