Monday, April 29, 2024

Did Melania Trump 'Dig Up' the Rose Garden at the White House?

rose garden at the white house

The newly renovated White House Rose Garden was unveiled on August 22, under First Lady Melania Trump’s vision, and it’s certainly a departure from the celebrated Bunny Mellon-designed garden that was in place since 1962. Although the renovation is meant to resemble its Kennedy-era appearance, it’s noticeably lacking in color and it now has a limestone walkway bordering the garden. Gone are the 10 crabapple trees that were planted 58 years ago—they’re going to be replanted in other parts of the White House grounds. The renovations caused quite a stir on the internet, with many questioning the motivation for the more obvious aesthetic departures (the hashtag #rosegardenmassacre trended on Twitter the day of the unveiling). The creative spark Mellon needed to begin designing what would one day be considered the world's most famous garden came from admiring the magnolia trees growing in front of The Frick Collection museum on New York City's Fifth Avenue.

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(President Kennedy wanted plants that grew at Monticello.) The only Kennedy-era vegetation that has survived over the years are the saucer magnolias that mark the rectangular garden’s corners and an osmanthus hedge that runs along the West Colonnade. In late July, the White House announced that First Lady Melania Trump will oversee a renovation of the White House Rose Garden this summer. This weekend, she unveiled the result of that renovation—to vastly mixed reviews. No matter your political affiliation, there’s no denying the importance of this garden, given how many historic events have taken place here (including countless speeches and the hosting of various important figures).

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The colonnade of the Oval Office of the White House, seen from the Rose Garden in 1967 during the Johnson administration. Another early 1960s view of the garden shows the West Wing Colonnade in the background. The Rose Garden was intended to be a venue that could foster diplomacy and bring people together though the common ground of natural beauty. In this photo we see President Carter with Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairman Bo Yibo during signing of agreements to normalize relations between the U.S. and China on Sept. 17, 1980. To be fair to the former first lady, experts agreed that the White House Rose Garden was in need of some work prior to her involvement.

The Complete History of the White House Rose Garden

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Perennials could be held over, annuals started, and lilies grown in pots so that they could be used year after year. In this way there was assurance that the garden would have the important plants that were required for each season. This informal exchange, brief as it was, spurred me to move ahead more quickly. All costs would be covered by the Park Service, but I was to keep expenses as low as possible. During the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, Rachel Mellon also supervised the redesign of the East Garden seen here in 2011.

Bunny Mellon's Vision

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The garden was unveiled on April 24, 1962, and the first ceremonial occasion held there in July 1962 featured the swearing in of Anthony Celebrezze, the former mayor of Cleveland, as the new secretary of health, education and welfare. The Rose Garden was first launched in 1913 by Ellen Wilson, the first wife of former president Woodrow Wilson. In 1961, President Kennedy launched the redesign of the garden for use as a space for outdoor ceremonies. The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide (38 metres by 18 metres, or about 684m2).

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We dug out the whole area to a depth of four feet and filled it with fertile soil. With new soil in place and Mr. Williams at work, my thoughts turned to finding available plant material. Both Mr. Williams and Mr. West lent their intelligence—not to mention their charm—to the project; their spirits are woven into the planting of the Rose Garden. One day while were removing the old soil and replacing it with new, we cut into a mysterious cable buried in a corner of the garden. He looked over to me before sitting down and said with an inquiring smile, “Bunny, where is my garden plan? ” “I’m afraid it is still in my head, Mr. President, not yet down on paper, but I will finish it and send it to you soon.” “That’s the story of my administration,” he quipped, with a sparkle and a twinkle in his eye.

On either side of the large lawn there could be a border 12 feet wide in which to plant smaller trees, roses, and other flowers. The President loved flowers and asked if a variety of other types could be mixed with the roses. He had read the published garden notes of Thomas Jefferson and hoped for flowers used in Jefferson’s period.

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French Lemon Ginger A soothing organic lemon ginger blend comprised of spicy, grassy, and citrus flavor notes. Happy Sweet raspberries are balanced by tangy hibiscus flowers while jasmine lifts this organic guayusa tea. The mansion’s columns open to sprawling lawns, with a White House-style rose garden and ivy arches surrounding the outdoor swimming pool, bathhouse, gazebo and solar array. The property impresses from the moment you cross the gated threshold, with fountains, trees and hedgerows on entrance. At the front, there is a large mosaic motor court, which provides plenty of guest parking.

rose garden at the white house

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The estate sits just north of some of the West Coast's best and most well known surfing spots, which cover four miles from San Onofre State Park through Lower and Upper Trestles and ending at Cotton's Point, itself one of the best big summer wave spots along the entire coast. Although the trees were pretty, McDowell said, they have always been problematic because as they grew they shaded out the roses, and "if you want roses, you can't grow them in the shade." On March 31, a workman poked a shovel deep into the earth, and suddenlyalarms went off and security guards materialized. The president asked Bunny to complete the garden in four months and tokeep costs down, although the National Park Service would cover theexpense. Jackie Kennedy, wife of Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy, liked toescape life in D.C.

rose garden at the white house

Kennedy had just returned from a state visit to Europe with stops inFrance, Austria, and England, where he had admired the magnificent,historic gardens. He wanted Bunny to create the perfect outdoor stageset as the backdrop for his presidency, and for every president to come.He envisioned not just a mere garden but rather an American symbol thatwould serve as an elegant and welcoming vista. A larger platform area for staging announcements is seen in this photograph bordered by flower boxes filled with geraniums.

From time to time, the city also holds special events for the public to enjoy at the park. Nixon bought the estate in 1969 from Cotton's widow, and dubbed the home "La Casa Pacifica". It was soon nicknamed "The Western White House" by the press, and the name was favored by Nixon himself; the latter became the term of subsequent similar presidential homes. Landscape historian Marta McDowell, author of "All the Presidents' Gardens," told us in a phone interview that the crab apple trees have been replaced three times since the original planting in the 1960s, and the tree type changed from one called Katherine to another called Spring Snow.

It balances the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on the east side of the White House Complex. It is commonly used as a stage for receptions and media events due to its proximity to the White House. The Rose Garden is located along the West Terrace and West Wing near the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room. The current Rose Garden reflects a renovation in 2020 that was initiated by First Lady Melania Trump.

It housed press conferences during the Cuban Missile Crisis and welcomed Project Mercury astronauts. Kennedy's dream of a world-renowned official garden was quickly coming true. There is often unspoken encouragement when trees or shrubs are planted and you review the original plan to see how the reality of three dimensions measures up. Now in the Rose Garden shadows gave a quality of aliveness that could be repeated by the smaller trees I hoped to plant in the two flanking twelve-foot borders. The force of the summer sun that bakes the city of Washington would be broken by the height and width of these trees. The tree whose trunk reached higher than the others was planted in the northeast corner by the White House.

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