The Rock Garden is an amusing advertisement for the baking product Krusto Pastry Maker, in which an upper-class housewife tries to please her husband with home-baked treats, but fails when everything turns out hard enough for the husband’s rock garden. Only with the “hints & recipes” of the ready-mix Krusto is she finally able to bake wonderful delights, making her husband and the family dog happy after all.
The commercial refers to the stigma of women who are not able to cook or bake, giving it a charming twist in which the husband never stops encouraging her efforts in the kitchen – even turning it into a new hobby – thereby getting his reward. In the finale, the trademark appears for the last time in a close-up, saying “Made with Krusto!… there’ll be no more rocks for the rock garden now!” Notwithstanding the brand’s slogan trumpeting its quick and easy handling – “Krusto Pastry Maker. Mix with water & bake, that’s all!” – the product turned out to be a commercial failure for J. & J. Colman (most famous for its mustard) later in the 1930s. Nevertheless, Krusto is emblematic of the increase in convenience foods in the 1920s, when products such as tinned comestibles became more readily available, along with a range of kitchen helpers. These innovations accompanied societal changes: as more women were working outside the home, convenience foods helped reduce preparation times, making it easier to balance housework and a paid job. The Rock Garden, however, depicts a special case: the upper-class housewife needs Krusto not to reduce her time in the kitchen (she has a maid), but to make sure her pastime is successful.

Olivia Kristina Stutz, Noemi Daugaard