Friday, March 20, 2009

'First Garden' to sprout at White House

Alice Waters and other sustainable food advocates must have been persuasive. The Obamas are planning a veggie garden on the White House lawn, says the Washington Post.


Yes, it will include arugula. No, it isn't the first such garden. President John Adams, the first president to live in the White House, planted a garden. Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden during World War II. The last true farmer in the White House, Jimmy Carter, wouldn't plant a vegetable garden – not even a peanut patch.
The New York Times even shows a schematic of what will be planted in what patch in the garden.
But will we see the First Family out digging up wild onions and Bermuda grass or shoo-ing the First Squirrels away from the First Tomatoes? We await further developments.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

And this has WHAT to do with "growth in the Charlotte region"?

How's your jaw doing?

Anonymous said...

Answer: No relevance at all.

Kinda like the rest of the Observer.

Is Caulkins on vacation...or job hunting?

Anonymous said...

Give it a rest, folks. The constant cynical carping is just tired. Plus rude.

Growth in the Charlotte region needs continued example-setting; and sustainable, locally-grown and accessible food (including vegetables grown in your own backyard, wherever that happens to be) is good, since it's cheaper, more efficient, and--if you have kids--a teaching/learning/fun experience.

Maybe you all were lucky enough to grow food in your own backyards, but a lot of folks grew up without that. For them, the "First Gardener" example is a positive one that 'plays well' here in Charlotte.

So could you please play nice in the sandbox with the other kids, for once?

Anonymous said...

Mary you should pay more taxes.

Jumper said...

Like a character in a movie who sold his car because he had "too many keys" in his life, the NYT demands I store cookies on my computer and I've had enough. Too many cookies! So I didn't see the list of all the veggies. I did see arugula was on the list. I think mine died on a cold night, although the roots are still green and may sprout new growth. Tomatoes are on the list for sure. I have never grown a bell pepper even approaching the size and fleshiness of those in the store. We do what we are good at, I suppose. I am good at potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and squash. I need to find the yellow, slightly warty, crookneck variety. The straight neck (and zuccini) have no taste.

LMA said...

Thank you, Anon 8:30.

Anonymous said...

So before the usual queue of snarks shows up here to give Ms. Newsom the Beavis treatment, I'd like to ask:

Do you children have any plans whatsoever for coping the next time there's a problem with the Colonial Pipeline?

Any plans, that is, besides grousing about "price gouging" while you run around like panicked pigs to dry out every gas station?

Just wondering. Because, well, a good backyard garden would come in very handy for such an occasion.