The progressive era of education and the nature study movement set the stage for the success of school gardens. Gardens were praised for a wide variety of benefits, including character building, discipline, strengthening work ethic, neighborhood beautification, instilling an appreciation of nature, improved nutrition and Americanization of immigrant children, in addition to the teaching of natural sciences. Schools in rural areas often had a stronger focus on the vocational aspect of gardening, whereas urban schools focused on character building and work ethic, but gardens in schools were growing everywhere. The US Bureau of Education created a Division of Home and School Gardening in 1914, which supported school gardens through publications and promotion. While the government put forth the effort of an entire division, the support was not necessarily monetary. School gardens relied primarily on funds from civic and women's clubs, educational groups, horticultural associations, and newly created school garden associations, and even corporate sponsors.

In a report from the Bureau of Education in 1907, it was estimated that there were 75,000 school gardens in the United States. A report by C.D. Jarvis of the Bureau of Education indicated that more than 50 percent of schools in cities with a population over 5,000 had school gardens in 1916.