Michelle Obama needs no introduction and even her book “American Grown,” describing the White House Kitchen Garden she started, is already well known. For some, this may be an easy book to dismiss as a public service announcement, or worse, as a political statement. This is unfortunate, because it is a good gardening book, both for techniques and as a model of how gardening improves people’s lives in many ways.
This book has many authors. The White House gardening staff share their experiences and appreciation of the garden along with basic cultural advice, geared to both the new gardener and to those unfamiliar with the wide range of delicious foods they can easily grow. White House chefs share tips on harvesting and preserving, and provide recipes that make it simple to add more fruits and vegetable to your diet.
Equity and diversity are quiet, background themes in “American Grown”, but it clear that in this garden “equality is a key part of the message of planting day. We are all down in the dirt. Anyone present can help dig. There is no hierarchy, no boss, and no winner.”
Obama also reaches out to those involved with community gardens, school gardens, and food resources across the country (including Will Allen), and with other programs that encourage exercise for youth and healthy school lunch choices.
One such garden is the New Roots Community Farm in San Diego, where gardeners from Uganda, Kenya, Vietnam, Mexico, and Guatemala began working together. “At first, they weren’t sure how people from so many different countries would get along—especially since the garden had only two hoses to share and the farmers often didn’t speak the same language. But their enthusiasm and determination drew them together.”
Excerpted from the Winter 2018 Arboretum Bulletin.