From this point on, the whole of Britain's home front were encouraged to transform their private gardens into mini-allotments. It was believed, quite rightly, that this would not only provide essential crops for families and neighbourhoods alike, but help the war effort by freeing up valuable space for war materials on the merchant shipping convoys. Indeed, over just a few months, Britain saw its green and pleasant land transformed with gardens, flowerbeds and parkland dug up for the plantation of vegetables.