NATIONAL GARDEN WEEK ESTABLISHED 
April, 22-28 
Endorsed by President Harding 
Adopted by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, as Suggested by and in Cooperation with 
The Garden Magazine 
WHY CLUB WOMEN SPONSOR GARDEN WEEK 
MRS. THOMAS G. WINTER 
President General Federation of Women’s Clubs 
TRHAPS nothing could help to stabilize our minds and 
spirits in this very tumultuous time so much as a pro¬ 
found and intimate realization of the steadiness of the 
universe in which we live—its law, its orderliness, its 
magnificent long purposes and recurrences. The Garden Move¬ 
ment means a great deal more than getting a little plot of land 
where the child or the grown-up can raise a few Sweet-peas or 
Radishes. It means that serene contact with the vitality and 
reliability and serenity of nature, of purpose and fulfilment, 
of human life as related to forces infinitely greater than itself. 
That’s the reason we club women are backing Garden Week. 
We believe in the kind of activity that links itself with or¬ 
dered purpose—that sees the day as a part of eternity. 
PLANS FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF THE CLUBS 
MRS. JOHN D. SHERMAN 
Chm. Department of Applied Education, General Federation of Women’s Clubs 
0 FIX upon a date for Garden Week that would be 
suited to the actual making of a garden in all localities 
is an impossi¬ 
bility. In some 
places April 22 to 28 
will be too late and in 
others there will still be 
the chill of winter in the 
soil. To meet this con¬ 
dition a programme has 
been prepared that will 
give every community 
the opportunity to take 
part and feature some 
of the many phases of 
gardening in its relation 
to the life of the people 
in terms of health, edu¬ 
cation and enjoyment 
andfrom the standpoint 
of utility and beauty. 
The home garden 
brings the family to¬ 
gether on the common 
ground of interest. It 
is a unifying element, as 
it concerns the family 
and community groups. 
G ardening may 
be made a vital 
factor in Americaniza¬ 
tion. It opens up one 
of the best channels 
through which the na¬ 
tive born may get 
acquainted with the 
families of those born in 
foreign lands. And get- 
THE WHITE HOUSE 
WASHINGTON 
January 16, 1923. 
My dear Mrs. Winter: 
I am glad to assure you of my hearty en¬ 
dorsement of the program of the General Federa¬ 
tion cf Women's Clubs for a National Garden Week 
this spring. The benefits both to individuals 
who take part and to the community as a whole 
are so obvious that they seem hardly to require 
ting acquainted is the secret and very foundation of American¬ 
ism. In a garden we just naturally get acquainted in the right 
way. In this connection do not lose sight of the fact that our 
own children as well as ourselves need more of the spirit of Amer¬ 
icanism. Get all the garden folk of the community together, 
not at one time necessarily, but in any way it seems best, so that 
they may all be brought together by an interest that is common 
to every human being. In general the foreign-born man or 
woman has a higher regard for the value of food than the native- 
born American. In fact, by many races it is considered a crime 
to waste it, and by some it is looked upon as an irreligious act. 
G ARDEN ING is an all the year round interest. Along with a 
well-balanced programme of food production careful con¬ 
sideration should be given to the proper use and care of food, 
including nutrition, canning, preserving, drying, storage, pur¬ 
chase and marketing. And many are the lessons in thrift that 
may be learned in the garden. One in particular is to save 
wisely and to put things to their best possible use. 
D URING Garden Week and at all times we urge that a special 
effort he made with the school children. Almost endless 
opportunities can be offered to our boys and girls through 
supervised garden work. In addition to learning how to 
produce food from the 
soil, and gaining defi¬ 
nite ideas of the value 
of money, thrift and 
industry, garden work 
trains the children 
in observation, concen¬ 
tration and responsibil¬ 
ity. One of the impor¬ 
tant things the child 
should learn is the vital 
life lesson that he must 
not be a parasite and 
that honest productive 
labor with the hands is 
as honorable as that of 
the brain. 
Some of the beneficial 
phases of children’s gar¬ 
den work were well 
demonstrated during 
.the World War. Among 
other good results chil- 
■i 
President Harding’s Endorsement 
enumeration. 
Most sincerely yours. 
Mrs. Thomas 0. Winter, 
1734 N Street, N. W., 
Washington, D. C. 
45 
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dren in some of the 
poorer school districts 
—boys and girls who 
had been going to 
school hungry—were 
getting enough to eat, 
perhaps for the first 
time in their lives; they 
were in better physical 
condition than ever be¬ 
fore, and their school 
reco rd s s howed that 
they were doing better 
work. 
