“These are days never to be forgotten…”

Here we are in the midst of a global pandemic and it’s hard to know what the future will bring. It helps me to remember that we are not the first generation to face difficulty and that it is often times like these that bring out the best in people and cause us to grow, as individuals and as a whole. At Halden we believe in the power of gardening. There is something about it that brings so much joy and satisfaction and SO in a world that could use a little more joy right now, we decided to create a campaign to help people grow victory gardens again in 2020!

The year 1939 marked the beginning of the Second World War. The coming years brought unprecedented trial for the American people. A severe food crisis erupted across the globe as farmers were recruited into military service and farms were transformed into battlefields. Mimicking what had been started in WW1, Americans across the country were encouraged to contribute to the war effort by planting, fertilizing, and harvesting their own fruits and vegetables so that more food could be shipped overseas.

Citizens rose up to the challenge to “sow the seeds of victory” by utilizing any idle land that could be found including school and company grounds, parks, backyards or available vacant lots. The war garden movement spread like wildfire, by word of mouth, through civic associations, women’s clubs, chambers of commerce and neighbor to neighbor as the American people banned together, enlisting themselves as “soldiers of the soil.”

“In 1942, roughly 15 million families planted victory gardens; by 1944, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced roughly 8 million tons of food—which was the equivalent of more than 40 percent of all the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States…The Victory Garden campaign served as a successful means of boosting morale, expressing patriotism, safeguarding against food shortages on the home front, and easing the burden on the commercial farmers working arduously to feed troops and civilians overseas.” (America’s Patriotic Victory Gardens by Laura Schumm).

Why Victory Gardens Matter Today

In our day, 2020 brings on a foe much different than anything we have ever seen. And yet the same fear of the future, looms heavy in the human heart all over the world, just as it did in that day. It can be easy to wallow in the dark and desperate internet bogs as we huddle in our homes wondering when it will end. But rather than standing down, hunkered deep in the game of blaming and shaming and wondering and waiting, we can choose to stand up and go out into the sunshine and create something.

Just like the generation before, we believe that we can boost morale, that we can express patriotism, that we can safeguard against food shortages on the home front and ease burdens overseas as we once again plant victory gardens!

So wherever you are we invite you to enlist as a “soldier of the soil” and plant a victory garden this year! You may be sitting in a New York high rise or out on the plains of Wyoming reading this and shrugging your shoulders wondering what a victory garden would look like for you. Whatever your situation we assure you that you can create a victory garden.

You Can Do Your Part!

If you’re in a studio apartment in Chicago then you can make a little garden of herbs and flowers at your window sill. Perhaps you have an empty backyard fence or a little balcony that faces the sun. Whatever your situation we urge you to take this chance to grow something- whether it’s just flowers or vegetables- and to let it be a symbol of a cause that you believe in. You don’t need to be an expert gardener or even to have ever gardened before. No one was born knowing how to do something so the best way to learn is just to start. We promise you that whatever your victory garden looks like it will bring a little light into your life.

Halden Garden was officially launched a week after social distancing was announced in the United States. We seriously considered just waiting because who starts a business right now!? But we decided to forge ahead because we really do believe that right now more than ever the world needs gardening. There’s something about it that just fills you up and brightens your life and we want people to have that.

Share Your Stories. #haldendigforvictory

So we’re asking you to spread the word! And to join in the cause. We’ve created the hashtag #haldendigforvictory. We hope you’ll follow it and start using it to share this campaign to everyone you know! We want to see your victory gardens and hear about what they’re doing for you and your families. Thank you for your support. We would appreciate it so much if you share this with as many people as you can and spread the cause!

“Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days-- the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.” - Winston Churchill