Celebrate Juneteenth With Gardening and Black Owned Brands

A black woman gardening
RezArt in Creative Market (advertisement)

In this post, we review gardening and Juneteenth products from black owned brands. These include the following. 

  1. Gardening supplies (e.g., plants, planters, gardening tools)
  2. Gardening and Juneteenth apparel and accessories

Celebrating Juneteenth through gardening is a great way for American Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) to remember and honor their African roots and ancestors.  Gardening (i.e., the cultivation of plants), has played a key role in the survival of ADOS.  First, enslaved Africans came to the United States with root vegetable gardening skills.  Second, slaves were able to grow their own crops in less fertile areas of the plantation for which they could consume and sell.  These “slave gardens” provided sustenance in the context of deficient nutritional resources provided by slave owners.  Their skills came in handy as root vegetables (e.g., yams, sweet potatoes, and turnips) can be grown in a broad range of soil conditions, and help improve soil health over time.  Across centuries these vegetables have been staples in African American households.  Third, gardening and cultivation skills helped runaway slaves survive their journey to freedom.  Wild lettuce for instance was developed into a brew and used as a coffee substitute.  Tree bark was fashioned into weapons. 

In today’s landscape, the role of gardening in creating sustenance amid systemic disparities continues.  African American communities are disproportionately affected by “food deserts” where there is sparse access to healthful and affordable food options.  Backyard, container, and community gardening have become some ways of addressing this challenge. Furthermore, gardening is great for mental as well as physical health by promoting stress relief, relaxation, and a range of coping skills.

Some of the following are affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means at no cost to you, Shop With Leslie will receive a commission, should you use the advertisements in making a purchase.


Gardening Supplies

  • 1991 Greenery (advertisement) offers a diverse selection of plants and succulents as well as potting mixes. 

  • Barn Owl offers a selection of stainless steel garden tools with a storage tote bag.  The tools are sold on a number of platforms including Amazon (advertisement). 

  • Garden Art For The Soul (advertisement) offers a diverse selection of lawn and garden art, made from a  durable aluminum and polyethylene hybrid that can be used inside and outdoors. 

  • Goodee (advertisement) offers a large selection of environmentally friendly and durable gardening tools that include trimmers, pruners, a trowel and more.  Planters and gardening aprons are also available. 

  • Home Oniship (advertisement) offers a variety of planters that include handmade wall planters and planters with culturally themes. 

  • Hortiki Plants (advertisement) offers a selection of seed kits for indoor and container gardening.  These include herbs, fruits, and vegetables.  Selection options are featured in the carousel below. 





  • Tal & Bert (advertisement) offer an extensive selection of concrete planters embellished with raw crystals. 



  • Grounded offers a selection of plants that work well the indoors as well as planters. 

  • Crazy Plant Bae has an extensive and diverse collection of house plants, as well as planters for both indoors and outdoors. 



  • I Grow Shit has a selection of garden seeds, natural and organic fertilizers and insecticides. 


  • My Crazy Plant Life offers a selection of rare and tropical plants.  Plants for growing indoors and outdoors are available. 

  • Natty Garden offers a selection of indoor plants (e.g., cactus plants and trees), outdoor plants (e.g., hanging baskets and herbs), and gardening supplies (e.g., gloves, planters).  Soil, compost, and fertilizer are also available. 

  • Plants and Anime offers specialized and custom planters.  The owner also runs the blog “Black Men With Gardens.”

  • The Ratchet Hipster offers a diverse selection of house plants, some of which are sold with planters. 

  • Torpedopot offers a selection of self watering planters.

  • The Zen Succulent offers a selection of planters for container gardening. 

Other and non black owned options for gardening supplies include our affiliates. 

Some products are available on Amazon and at Lowe’s (advertisements).

  • Urban Leaf (advertisement) focuses on indoor herb gardening with kits to grow herbs from seed.  Vegetable seeds and planting guides for outdoor gardening are also available. 
Urban Leaf Complete Herb Garden Kit

Gardening and Juneteenth Apparel & Accessories



  • A Tree Of Us (advertisement) offers a selection of tee shirts that celebrate gardening.




  • The Hood Garden (advertisement) offers a selection of apparel and accessories (tee-shirts, sweatshirts, and bags) that celebrate gardening.




In reviewing these products I hope you find one or more that work for you. 

Happy shopping!

ALSO, Shop With Leslie has Etsy and Redbubble stores with merchandise celebrating culture and enterprise.   Proceeds go towards supporting this blog. Check out our Etsy merchandise at ShopWithLeslieBlog (free shipping).  Find my Redbubble merchandise here, ShopWithLeslieRedbubble.  A mixture of products is provided below.

Sources

  1. Encyclopedia.com.  “Slave gardens.”  Updated 22 April, 2020.  https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/slave-gardens
  2. Ford, Christian. “Gardening for slaves.” 13 January, 2012. https://www.hogsalt.com/wp-hogsalt/gardening-for-slaves/
  3. Gillihan, Seth J. Ph.D.  “10 mental health benefits of gardening.” 19 June, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201906/10-mental-health-benefits-gardening
  4. Holsopple, Kara.  “How plants were used to gain freedom on the underground railroad.”  15 September, 2017.  https://www.alleghenyfront.org/how-enslaved-people-use-plants-to-gain-freedom/
  5. United Farm and Ranch Management.  “Can your land benefit from cover crops like turnips and radishes?”  https://ufarm.com/2013/12/24/can-your-land-benefit-from-cover-crops-like-turnips-and-radishes/
  6. Yeoman, Barry.  “The hidden resilience of ‘food desert’ neighborhoods.” 18 September, 2018.  https://civileats.com/2018/09/14/the-hidden-resilience-of-food-desert-neighborhoods/

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