During the Depression years at the start of the 1930s gardening became a popular hobby. Gardening was a good way to save on food bills and the start-up costs were low. Much of the new social housing had gardens, 1930s semis often had large gardens and, for those who lived in one of the new flats, indoor gardening was also a popular activity (see our title Room and Window Gardening). There was a significant increase in the number of gardening magazines published, radio programmes on gardening were broadcast and information films produced – see, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiiXAiSReJQ. Garden clubs proliferated both in the UK and the USA.
The health benefits of gardening were also recognised in the 1930s. In the Introduction to How to Make a Garden Grow K.R.G. Browne says,
Though a lot of Britons now inhabit flats – and many of them pretty comfortably, too, thanks to Mr. Heath Robinson and myself (advt.) – the bulk of the population still prefers to live in houses, each with its allotted ration of this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. This is all to the good, in the opinion of authorities on hygiene, because even the smallest garden is a good place to get fresh air and gentle exercise in.
At the time the book was published there were concerns about levels of malnutrition and Britain performed poorly at the 1936 Olympics. It seems that a combination of factors were the cause of the lacklustre British Olympic performance. Lack of government funds, a strict code of amateurism and the generally poor state of the country’s health have all been blamed. However, these factors were also in place in 1924 when Britain did so well so the 1936 failure was probably because other countries had improved their sporting prowess considerably since 1924, due perhaps to state funding of sport, while Britain rather rested on its laurels and didn’t think change was needed. The celebration of the body beautiful that began in the 1920s was therefore revived in the next decade by the Government’s National Fitness Campaign and by a general focus on outdoor recreation in the fresh air. Activities such as hiking, swimming, camping, sunbathing and gardening were all advocated as healthful pursuits. We can see Heath Robinson and Browne’s take on the combination of gardening and sport in this illustration:
The health benefits of gardening were also recognised in the 1930s. In the Introduction to How to Make a Garden Grow K.R.G. Browne says,
Though a lot of Britons now inhabit flats – and many of them pretty comfortably, too, thanks to Mr. Heath Robinson and myself (advt.) – the bulk of the population still prefers to live in houses, each with its allotted ration of this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. This is all to the good, in the opinion of authorities on hygiene, because even the smallest garden is a good place to get fresh air and gentle exercise in.
At the time the book was published there were concerns about levels of malnutrition and Britain performed poorly at the 1936 Olympics. It seems that a combination of factors were the cause of the lacklustre British Olympic performance. Lack of government funds, a strict code of amateurism and the generally poor state of the country’s health have all been blamed. However, these factors were also in place in 1924 when Britain did so well so the 1936 failure was probably because other countries had improved their sporting prowess considerably since 1924, due perhaps to state funding of sport, while Britain rather rested on its laurels and didn’t think change was needed. The celebration of the body beautiful that began in the 1920s was therefore revived in the next decade by the Government’s National Fitness Campaign and by a general focus on outdoor recreation in the fresh air. Activities such as hiking, swimming, camping, sunbathing and gardening were all advocated as healthful pursuits. We can see Heath Robinson and Browne’s take on the combination of gardening and sport in this illustration:
The psychological and wellbeing benefits of gardening are also understood today and this awareness can be traced back to the care of shell-shock victims during and after the First World War. Creative activities like gardening were used to help victims of shell-shock and the psychological trauma caused by war. For much of the rest of the population, both in the UK and USA, life was also hard in the inter-war years and gardening became a source of solace for many. K.R.G. Browne also says ‘That gardening is good for the soul will be denied by nobody who has ever tried it’.
Of course, laughter is also good for the soul. People have often poked fun at the British love of gardening. I was an avid reader of the Asterix and Obelix cartoon books by Gosciny and Uderzo when I was a child and I remember that one of their British characters in Asterix in Britain used the phrase ‘A garden is a lovesome thing, Got wot!’. K.R.G. Browne also uses this reference in How to Make a Garden Grow. It comes from an awfully sentimental poem by Thomas Edward Brown called My Garden:
A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Fern'd grot--
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not--
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign;
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.
This poem led to the phrase ‘Godwottery’ to mean a garden of affected and elaborate style. A garden with gnomes, sundials, bird baths, rockery and sundry statuary are all features of Godwottery. Heath Robinson gently ridicules the Godwottery popular in the 1930s with cartoons on gnomes, sundials and, his particular favourite, bird baths.
Of course, laughter is also good for the soul. People have often poked fun at the British love of gardening. I was an avid reader of the Asterix and Obelix cartoon books by Gosciny and Uderzo when I was a child and I remember that one of their British characters in Asterix in Britain used the phrase ‘A garden is a lovesome thing, Got wot!’. K.R.G. Browne also uses this reference in How to Make a Garden Grow. It comes from an awfully sentimental poem by Thomas Edward Brown called My Garden:
A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Fern'd grot--
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not--
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign;
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.
This poem led to the phrase ‘Godwottery’ to mean a garden of affected and elaborate style. A garden with gnomes, sundials, bird baths, rockery and sundry statuary are all features of Godwottery. Heath Robinson gently ridicules the Godwottery popular in the 1930s with cartoons on gnomes, sundials and, his particular favourite, bird baths.
I think Heath Robinson was particularly fond of birds as they appear in all four of the How to… books. His designs for luxurious bird-baths – often with H&C (hot and cold running water) and towels laid on – and the care shown to avoid chicken casualties in the How to be a Motorist title demonstrate his great concern for their welfare. Chickens even appear in How to Live in a Flat and birds (if not bees) appear as agents of courtship in How to be a Perfect Husband!
So, once a young couple has got married (see How to be a Perfect Husband) and moved in to their modern bungalow (see How to Live in a Flat, which also covers bungalows), they can escape from the trials of early twentieth-century life in their garden and gain valuable advice from How to Make a Garden Grow. The happy couple will also benefit from the many Heath Robinson devices designed to make their gardening easier – from the Eeziweeda to the Ever-Ready Cat-dowser, for the benefit of the cat-ridden. Heath Robinson and Browne don’t claim to be gardening experts but in How to Make a Garden Grow, as in all the How to… books, they have expertly captured both the spirit of their time and the essence of what it was (and in many ways still is) to be British. What they remind us of is that a key aspect of that essence is the ability to laugh at ourselves, particularly in difficult times.
So, once a young couple has got married (see How to be a Perfect Husband) and moved in to their modern bungalow (see How to Live in a Flat, which also covers bungalows), they can escape from the trials of early twentieth-century life in their garden and gain valuable advice from How to Make a Garden Grow. The happy couple will also benefit from the many Heath Robinson devices designed to make their gardening easier – from the Eeziweeda to the Ever-Ready Cat-dowser, for the benefit of the cat-ridden. Heath Robinson and Browne don’t claim to be gardening experts but in How to Make a Garden Grow, as in all the How to… books, they have expertly captured both the spirit of their time and the essence of what it was (and in many ways still is) to be British. What they remind us of is that a key aspect of that essence is the ability to laugh at ourselves, particularly in difficult times.
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