Emphases of production

When the Second World War began, Finland was up to 95 percent self-sustaining in agriculture (Rantatupa 2004: 449-452), and self-sufficiency was also the ideal for households. Many educational organizations, such as the Martta home economics organization, supported and strongly advocated the ideal. (Heinonen 1998: 32-34; Ollila 1993: 124.) Self-sufficiency relied expressly on women, because it was they who looked after such tasks as food management, gardening, knitting fabrics and other household production (Ollila 1993: 124) both in Finland and in Britain (Allen 2008: 21-41). The garden and its vegetable patch were part of a family’s food production system but also served the broader goal of self-sufficiency.

During its first years of publication, during the war and in the period reconstruction in the 1950s, Kotipuutarha Magazine focused on advisory content both in regard of activities and products: it offered practical instructions on how to cultivate, use and preserve fruit, berries and vegetables. Initially the magazine came out once a month and its overall visual appearance was rather modest. It did however also include black and white pictures, mostly to make the instructions more understandable. Besides instructions on the cultivation of food plants, the magazine also focused on introducing less known plants for home gardening use.

The magazine explained the cultivation requirements in detail and also reminded its readers of the annual cycle with its gardener’s almanacs. It also featured recipes. In 1941 (145) the magazine pondered on the meaning of the garden as follows: “In these times a garden is essentially worth gold. Just think of all the things we can produce ourselves, both to be used throughout the summer and to store for the winter. All this does however require information. Many of the tasks can be taken care of easily and without undue effort when there is a modicum of professional knowledge and skill guiding them.”

During the years of war, the British Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society was very similar to the Finnish Kotipuutarha Magazine, both in layout and content. Each issue featured questions of home gardening. Attention was also paid to the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. In 1941 the journal advised amateur gardeners to grow fruit, on the following grounds: “Fruit trees… providing a valuable addition to the home-grown food supply. Further, they will remain a sound investment for many season to come, because it is not likely that large imports of fruit from overseas will be received for several years after victory is achieved.” The article recommends that amateur gardeners should choose two to three year old fruit trees trained against walls, which would bear fruit in the next season. Then the article proceeds to explain how to prepare the ground, support the plants, plant the seedlings and select varieties (1941: 87-9).

The goal of preventing food shortage is reflected in the magazine contents both in Finland and Britain. The wartime depression highlighted the aspects of gardening connected with production and sustenance, and the garden was primarily regarded as a place and opportunity for food production. Due to its background, The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society covered a more extensive range of content than its Finnish counterpart: the journal provided information on the activities of its patron association and its large test garden also during the years of food shortage. The activities of Wisley Gardens were featured in every issue. Of course these articles, too, had advisory functions, but the British gardening tradition as it was before the Second World War was still strongly present despite the times of hardship.

Immediately after the years of war the British and the Finnish magazine start to show notable differences. Even during the period of reconstruction Kotipuutarha Magazine continued its strong emphasis on guidance. It can in fact be seen as one among the many Finnish media that took part in the large-scale effort to inform and educate Finnish households and consumers on how to act in the new type of consumer society. This work was carried out ever since the beginning of the 20^th century by many different types of organizations, from private companies and banks to insurance companies, civil organizations and cooperative societies (e.g.

Heinonen 1998, Lammi 2006). In the gardening magazine the educational objectives were focused on the practical aspects of production and activities, such as the cultivation of different food plants, fertilization, caring for fruit trees and using garden products in households.

The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society in turn detached itself at least to some extent from the educational approach already in the 1950s. This can be partly contributed to the journal’s different background: It was largely aimed at people with a serious, semi-professional interest in gardening and as such was more than an instructive journal for the average home gardener. Many of the articles in the journal dealt with decorative plants and their cultivation or different

‘showcase’ gardens, including exotic gardens abroad. They often also featured specific gardening activities which were explained in rich detail. For example, in 1946 the journal presented a home gardener who had performed experiments with cable soil heating units in a South-East London suburb. In the article he explains very carefully heating units and the processes of obtaining satisfactory sand and testing it with a specific composition of nutrient solution. He also made recommendations for weekend gardeners: a small sand-heating cable takes only 80 watt, has abundant uses and is a fascinating and valuable means of carrying on without adequate help. A fascinating array of time switches, pumps and various electrical gadgets are described, which would take care of nearly everything for the busy man. (1946: 48.)

In the 1950s the British journal also reflected on the transition towards informality in English gardening. This was seen as more of a long-term trend which was reinforced by amateur gardeners. Also the elements of landscaping and design were associated as important parts of the hobby, which had been actively discussed in Britain also before the war. Both in Finland and Britain the wartime food shortage had shifted the focus to the more basic questions of survival. After the war, old traditions were brought back into play. They were of course reformed but they also continued their existence as strong practices of knowledge and doing in the new era of peace.

Besides the different backgrounds, the different paces of industrialization are also reflected in the Finnish and the British magazine. Britain was industrialized and urbanized much earlier on than Finland. More than a half of Britain’s population already lived in cities in the mid-19^th century, when Finland was still undergoing its first, rather modest period of industrialization (Salmi 2002). The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society featured town gardens and gardening in urban conditions already in the 1950s. For example, an article from 1956 on a lecture delivered by American landscape architect and writer Lanning Roper reflected on the topic of town garden and urban gardening. Roper introduced two urban amateur gardener types: a complete novice with no preconceived idea of gardening in town and the successful country gardener with the wrong practical experience. According to Roper, it is seldom possible to find the right house and the right garden all in one in London. In many town gardens the land is not more than a small court or a strip of open space along the sidewalk. Even so there were abundant possibilities to create gardens. Roper was fascinated by Mrs. Anley and her husband, Brigadier-General Anley, who had created a garden that reflected the taste and interests of the owners. “The herbaceous paeonies are one of the great features of St. George’s. In this same bed are various others, all of which, are of American origin, like many other plants of the garden.” (1956, 166-174.)