The Full Story Behind The White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is one of the most famous gardens in America, but recently, it has been sparking drama. Recently, the 47th president of the United States, President Donald Trump, revealed that he wants to give the Rose Garden a Mar-a-Lago-style makeover. His plan is to pave over the grass and replace it with a hard surface.
Drafting Options
This will be the most dramatic change since the Kennedy-era redesign. Apparently, the roses will stay, but designers are already drafting options for new surfaces like limestone and interchangeable hardwood flooring for dancing events. But this sudden change has left us wondering: what does the famous Rose Garden’s history look like? Here is the full story behind the White House Rose Garden.
The Early 1900s
In 1902, First Lady Edith Roosevelt transformed a former stable area into a colonial-style garden with paisley-shaped flower beds with daisies and wild pansies. However, it didn’t become the famous Rose Garden that it is today until 1913, when Ellen Wilson, the wife of President Woodrow Wilson, worked with a landscape architect named George Burnap to establish the first proper rose garden. Roses soon became an enduring White House symbol, even appearing in the building’s carved stone columns.
The 1930s
In the 1930s, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the famed Central Park designer, brought a touch of elegance to the Rose Garden during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration. He added cast iron furniture for visitors to sit and enjoy the scenery of the famous garden, and he designed pathways to create clear “sight lines,” making the garden feel larger. He also made use of seasonal plant rotations to keep the garden looking vibrant all year long.
The 1960s
The Rose Garden turned into its modern form in 1962 under the Kennedys. Inspired by Europe’s grand gardens, President John F. Kennedy envisioned an American garden that could rival those found in Europe while serving as a functional space for presidential events. He asked Rachel “Bunny” Mellon to design the garden, but despite her experience, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to design a garden of such significance. However, Kennedy’s enthusiasm and vision convinced her to take on the challenge.
She Had An Idea
Mellon found inspiration in the magnolia trees at New York’s Frick Collection and collaborated with landscape architect Perry Wheeler to create a 50-by-100-foot lawn framed by four magnolia trees and seasonal flower beds. The garden’s elegant design, featuring Katherine crabapple trees, roses, and boxwoods, became so loved that foreign leaders requested to meet there instead of at the Oval Office. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy often walked up and down the garden paths, contemplating decisions that would have an impact on the entire world.
The 1970s
The Rose Garden became even more popular in the 1970s during the Nixon administration, partially because of his daughter, Tricia Nixon’s wedding. The garden was decorated with a custom-made ironwork gazebo adorned with hundreds of white roses and stephanotis intertwined with lush green garlands. This wedding was so significant that it inspired a wave of outdoor wedding trends across America.
The 1990s and 2000s
During the 1990s and 2000s, the famous Rose Garden was used as a stage for big historic moments. During Clinton’s administration, the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan was signed in the Rose Garden. In the 2000s, Barack Obama used the garden for everything from official announcements to informal meetings. There is also a famous photo of President Obama and his dog, Bo, among the roses.
The 2020 Transformation
So far, each of the past presidents left a subtle mark on the garden. George H.W. Bush added runner-friendly grass, Clinton added stunning plants, and George W. Bush planted fragrant flowers close to the entrance for guests to smell. However, in 2020, under First Lady Melania Trump’s direction, the Rose Garden underwent its most significant renovation since the Kennedy era.
Controversial Changes
The renovations focused on practical improvements like better drainage and upgraded electrical infrastructure. However, some changes were quite controversial, including the addition of a three-foot-wide limestone path, the removal of the signature crab apple trees in favor of white rose shrubs, and new boxwoods and pastel flowers. As the garden continues to evolve, time will tell whether Trump’s redesign will be embraced or reconsidered.
Sources:
The Complete History of the White House Rose Garden You Didn’t Know You Needed
President Kennedy’s Rose Garden
8 Things You Never Knew About The White House Gardens