The GOOD 100: Victory Gardens

To the Gardener Go the Spoils

Last century, the necessity of supporting our troops during the First and Second World Wars inspired so-called liberty or victory gardens: personal and community gardens that sprouted up in millions of yards and neighborhoods across the country. Today, global climate change-a foe that, while more abstract, has the potential to be more deadly than either the Imperial or Axis powers-has spurred a new resurgence of at-home gardening. From the alleys and lots of downtown Los Angeles to the lawns of the White House, the burgeoning DIY farming movement is shifting us away from the postwar wastefulness of 3,000-mile salads.