War Time gardening

I have copies of The Royal Horticultural Society Journal ; ‘ The Garden’going right back to the 2nd one print in 1934 . It was actually call ‘ My Garden ’ in those days . They make fascinating reading , specially those release in the war long time and directly afterwards . They have a combining of serious and informative articles by such author as A. T. Johnson and Will Ingwerson and toe - curlingly whimsical one by mass such as Beverley Nichols . They are all liberally sprinkle with awful poem : ‘ A garden is a lovesome thing , God wot’sort of thing .

The adverts were for Chilprufe vests , ( featuring a very martial - look toddler ) and for biscuit made in ‘ clean mod mill ’ . There were plenty of advert for tonics and bizarrely for cony care . Smoking Players Cigarettes seemed to be loyal for some understanding .

Most of the adverts though , were for thing you could n’t have because of the war : Ford cars , battery and films which were needed for the warfare effort . Adverts announced that Peak Frean ’s biscuit were unavailable at the moment , but would be back after triumph . Even Chappie Dog Food was only available for a few privileged dogs,‘the dogs would say : “ sorry fellars , there ’s not enoughChappie for all of us ” and the advert urged everyone to preserve their dogs ’ bone for salvage . This is remove recycling to a level unimagined by the greenest of us .

Here are a few more war - time advertizing .

contributor to these early variation include Captain W. E. Johns of ‘ Biggles ’ fame . In 1944 he told how he was at a loss as how to reuse an embarrassing numeral of wine-coloured bottles . He fear that after five years they were a repository to his depravity . He solved the trouble by burying them under his terrace .

Other contributors were F.C. Puddle , and the appropriately named F.A. Bush who , in 1934 , without any mother wit of irony explained which were the good shrubs to get . A good example of ‘ nominative determinism ’

There was a heavy deal of worry about how garden would be replanted and managed after the war . In 1944 the editor in chief , Theo . A. Stephens , bemoaned the fact that the minimum wage that was £ 1 a workweek for gardeners before the state of war , may go as high as £ 3.5s . He suggest that all wages pay to gardeners should be subtract from employer ’s gross income before assessment for income tax .

The mentation of having to start so many overgrown garden from loot must have been daunting but Theo Stephens took comfortableness from the fact that there would be many new chemical aids to gardening after the war such as DDT . ( Brilliant for keeping pest off your vegetable . )

For those of us who adore roses , it is sobering to cogitate how very close to losing many of our favourite old fashioned ones we came when the fashion was for the biggest and lustrous hybrid teas . And indeed how many were in fact lost incessantly .

It is heartening to record Walter Easlea putting in a plea for the spell of individual pink wine in 1944 . He wrote of the delights of two of my favourites , R. ‘ Dainty Bess ’ and R. ‘ Mrs. Oakley Fisher ’ . In another clause in July , 1944 titled , ‘ contain on to the Old Roses ’ , he suggested readers should look after the old variety show because they may become unavailable . This was a very real risk at the time , and it is good to take in that the great unwashed like Easlea and later Vita Sackville West were champion these beauties which we now treasure so highly . Easlea listed 30 assortment which he believed to be especially at risk . He exhort his reader to take particular good care of them . Of these 16 are well known and loved today , but 14 of them are obscure to me and they are not lean in The RHS Dictionary of Roses . These are R. Prince de Bulgare , R.Laurent Carle , R. Lieutenant Chaure , R. Lady Alice Stanley , R. Pharisaer , R. Sachsengruss , R. Viscountess Folkestone , R.Grace Darling , R.Tosca , R.Antoine Mari , R.Gorgeous , R. Mrs. Foley Hobbs , R.Mrs . Wemyss Quin and R. Gustave Regis .

I would be interested to know whether anyone know of any of these rosebush , some of which I take for granted were early Hybrid Teas , but all considered by Easlea to be garden - suitable .

In October 1944 W. Slinger replied to the article with one entitled “ WHO Wants the Old Roses ? ’ He say that as a nursery man he found that these pink wine were simply not in demand . He had offered them because of their wonderful essence but no one bought them . He admit that there might be a case for stock old rosiness but nurserymen just could not afford to carry deadened weight . It is sad to think how many adorable pink wine have been lose to us because of our grandparent ’s and parent ’s love life of the atrocious , scentless stiff intercrossed teas such as R. Piccadilly and the dreadful R.Super Star . Many of these awful garish plants have no rightfield to be called roses at all . give thanks goodness that most gardeners now appreciate the gorgeous , gilded shapes and perfumes of erstwhile blush wine .

22 Responses toWar Time gardening

I have to orient out , Pauline , that although I have journals going back to 1934 , I did n’t roll up them personally . That would make me about 100 old age sometime . They belonged to a friend ’s Granny . Although I was suffer after the warfare , I do remember Chiplrufe . vests and green shoal knickers with pockets in them .. And Biggles of form . Chloris

What an interesting office – I ’d never thought about the burden that the dig for victory effort must have had on the diversity of flush usable to gardener . Thank you for sharing a part of your magazine collection !

give thanks you for register my station Sarah . I love these old gardening magazines . it ’s like a peep into a different Earth . As somebody once sound out ( I ca n’t remember who ) ‘ The past times is a strange country , they do thing differently there’ . Chloris

How times change eh ! Especially concerning the honest-to-god rose varieties , I do n’t know anyone who likes intercrossed T ’s any more . It seems gardening has evolved – give thanks goodness – although I do have quite a few very honest-to-god gardening book that do give sound advice .

You are right honest-to-goodness gardening Book do give sound advice . Although I am cross by the advice in one honest-to-god book of mine . It recommends something called ‘ bastard trenching ’ . I ’ve never been quite sure what it was but in my former horticulture solar day I used to vex that I was n’t doing it . Whatever it was . Chloris

Your comment about nurseryman ’ struggles to keep thing go during time of austerity really puts it in perspective . These advertizing and your verbal description help to paint a exposure of how truly hard it must have been .

Oh those old daybook fascinating reading textile Chloris . I wonder what go on to the rosebush that you note – would be most sad if they have vanish without a touch .

I think those roses must have go away . It is a good thing that there were at least a few gardeners who kept on acquire the sometime roses even though it was not profitable . Chloris

give thanks you for leaving a scuttlebutt , Deb . Yes , of course the loss of a few rose was not really pregnant in the context of the horrors of war . My old journals are wonderful , full of useful entropy but at the same time a coup d’oeil into another time . We are so prosperous as gardeners being alert now with the amazing variety of works available to us .. Chloris

This was so interesting….what a sport read ! 🙂

Thank you Deb , and thank you for read my blog . Chloris

yes , Jason , I find the advertizement as interesting as the article . The war time unity show women doing all the work ; mowing and hedge - cutting etc , but after the war it is always a world of a sealed years with a piping in his mouth who is the gardener . Whatever job he is doing he never removes that pipe . Chloris

I revel read your article specially about the roses . Walter Easlea is my heavy granddaddy and indeed the war saw the end of their nurseries and the resurrect grow . Vivienne

War Time gardening