Lecture - Defiant Gardens

Set against the harshness and ugliness of war, a garden can bring both beauty and hope. Author and Professor Kenneth Helphand writes about such defiant gardens – gardens created in extreme political, economic, or cultural conditions – and their impact in Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime. Helphand spoke on the subject of defiant gardens at a public lecture and book signing held February 1, 2007.

Helphand studies gardens grown during wars throughout the 20th century, including gardens created by World War I soldiers in the trenches, gardens found in the ghettos of World War II, up to gardens grown during both Gulf Wars.

During his presentation, Helphand talked about why people create gardens during difficult times and under stressful conditions. He pointed out that not only can gardens provide vital nutritional sustenance, but they can also be a source of hope, beauty, and even happiness during times of great hardship. He showed compelling images and illustrations of gardens from World War I, the Warsaw ghettos, the Japanese Internment Camps of World War II, and even a patch of grass grown by a soldier serving in Iraq.

In addition to Defiant Gardens, Helphand is the author of Colorado: Visions of an American Landscape, Dream Gardens: Landscape Architecture and the Making of Modern Israel, and Yard Street Park: The Design of Suburban Open Space (coauthored by Cynthia Girling). He is a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

The lecture and book signing were co-sponsored by University Libraries and the Lloyd Library and Museum, which collects materials on natural history, botany, pharmacy, and medicine. For more on the Lloyd Library and Museum visit <www.lloydlibrary.org/>

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