Proclamation 5462—National Garden Week, 1986

During spring, the season of renewal, millions of Americans turn joyfully to gardening.

America's gardens produce an abundance of fruits and vegetables to enliven our tables and a stunning variety of flowers and shrubs brighten our lives with their beauty.

Gardening is a wholesome avocation that encourages appreciation for nature and concern for the preservation and enhancement of our environment. It prompts a genuine respect for those who work in agriculture today. Gardening, above all, provides a special source of fulfillment when foresight, patience, and collaboration with soil and sunlight finally are repaid by lovely flowers and luscious harvests.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 136, has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning April 13, 1986, as "National Garden Week."

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning April 13, 1986, as National Garden Week, and I call upon all Federal, State and local governments, private organizations, and all Americans to join in educational efforts, ceremonies, and other appropriate activities to show our appreciation for the efforts and contributions of gardeners.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

RONALD REAGAN