Ron Edmonds/AP/file
Today, a garden at the White House – tomorrow, at 50 statehouses?
By Judy Lowe | 04.23.09
The campaign to have the Obamas plant a vegetable garden at the White House was such as success that now there’s another effort, GreentheGrounds.org, which wants to encourage not just kitchen gardens but sustainable landscaping around the governors’ mansions or statehouses of all 50 states.
The idea is to urge other states to follow the examples of Maryland (the grounds of its governor’s mansion have been certified by the Bay-Wise program), New York (where a “greening the mansion” program is under way), and Ohio (where a 3-1/2-acre “heritage garden” was created around the governor’s mansion).
California’s first lady, Maria Shriver, has also announced that a vegetable garden will be planted in Capitol Park in Sacramento next month.
One of the main ideas behind this campaign is that planting vegetables and using sustainable landscaping techniques (wise water use, natural lawn care, nature-friendly plant care, etc.) will set a good example for the residents of all states, show what can be done, and explain why it’s a good idea.
“Moving from the growing of food to ‘greening’ the whole grounds, there are even more
opportunities to show Americans how to use their yards in new ways that are better for the
environment, save money, and encourage families to be more active outdoors,” wrote Susan Harris in a proposal solicited by the White House.
So far, you may notice from the examples of what’s already been accomplished, it’s all first ladies doing the gardening. Maybe that’s the key. Do you think it’s likely this might happen in your state?
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2. Facts as Friends | 04.24.09
There should not be any shortage of natural fertilizer with this administration.
3. Bea McGee | 04.24.09
Cheers for everyone who wants to green us! The idea of community gardens should be encouraged. I will do
what I can for greening of our subdivision, taking into account soil, sun and rainfall into account. A garden is
one way to encourage a community to come together, both young and old. Hands in the dirt followed by fresh
vegetables. Wonderful!
4. Stilly River Sage | 04.25.09
This administration isn’t generating the fertilizer, it is composting all of the leftover material from the last one.
Good luck with the garden–there are plenty of useful resources if you run into the usual garden problems (http://www.dirtdoctor.com promotes a full organic regimen in the garden or anywhere else).
I’m sure a lot of people would like to keep track of the garden. I hope you’ll post frequent updates.
5. Treeherder | 04.30.09
We’re trying to keep track of the progress of the WH Garden for a weekly radio spot on takilmafm.com. It seems that after the flap with Monsanto, updates are difficult to find. Thanks much for the info.
6. susan harris | 05.12.09
Thanks for helping to spread the word, Judy! Our website now includes several more states and a few cities, and we’re looking forward to hearing more news about the White House grounds any day now.
Just one clarification: my proposal wasn’t solicited by Mrs. Obama’s office. In a move I’ve characterized as “blogger chutzpah,” I volunteered some “suggestions” about the whole 18 acres after they contacted me about the veg garden. Little did they know.
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1. Marlene Condon | 04.24.09
This is a GREAT IDEA. I wrote The Nature-friendly Garden (Stackpole Books)to help people to create sustainable landscapes.