White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a formal garden situated adjacent to the Oval Office on the west terrace of the White House in Washington, D.C., established in 1913 by First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson during President Woodrow Wilson's administration.[1] Designed by landscape architect George J. Burnap, it replaced an earlier colonial-style garden created by First Lady Edith Roosevelt in 1903 and features a symmetrical layout with a central lawn bordered by rose beds, perennials, boxwood hedges, and crabapple trees, all enclosed by a hemlock hedge planted in 1912.[1][2] The garden serves primarily as a venue for official White House events, including diplomatic receptions, bill signings, swearing-in ceremonies, and press conferences, owing to its proximity to the Oval Office and West Wing.[1] Significant redesigns have shaped its modern appearance, most notably in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy commissioned landscape designer Rachel "Bunny" Mellon to overhaul the space, introducing wider paths, relocated plantings, and a more geometric formality that emphasized visibility and access for gatherings.[3] This iteration hosted landmark events, such as the 1971 wedding of Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of President Richard Nixon, marking the first outdoor presidential daughter wedding in White House history.[2] The garden's plantings include varieties of hybrid tea roses selected for bloom duration and scent, maintained by the National Park Service, reflecting its role as both a horticultural showcase and a functional outdoor room integral to executive functions.[1]Historical Development
Pre-20th Century Origins
The area designated for the present-day White House Rose Garden, situated adjacent to the West Wing, served utilitarian purposes in the early 19th century, primarily as a site for stables housing presidential horses and carriages following the White House's completion in 1800.[4] These facilities supported the executive mansion's operational needs amid limited infrastructure on the nascent federal grounds.[2] By the mid-19th century, the site incorporated elements of a greenhouse complex, with construction beginning before the Civil War around the 1850s, featuring a dedicated "rose house" that cultivated roses in a Victorian-style enclosure under glass.[3] This represented the earliest documented association of the location with rose cultivation, though confined to controlled indoor environments rather than an outdoor formal garden.[3] The greenhouses, part of broader horticultural expansions under administrations like those of Presidents Fillmore and Pierce, emphasized ornamental plants for White House displays but did not extend to landscape integration in the open plot.[5] These precursors laid a foundational horticultural precedent, predating the outdoor garden's establishment.Early 20th Century Establishments
In 1902, during President Theodore Roosevelt's comprehensive renovation of the White House, First Lady Edith Roosevelt directed the establishment of a colonial-style garden in the West Garden area, situated immediately west of the newly constructed West Wing.[2] This development followed the demolition of earlier greenhouse structures, including a conservatory known as the Rose House, to create an open space with formal paisley-shaped flower beds outlined by low boxwood hedges and planted with period-appropriate varieties such as Johnny-jump-ups, daisies, and other wildflowers.[1] The design reflected the era's colonial revival influences, prioritizing symmetrical, historical ornamentation over utilitarian greenhouse functions, and paralleled a similar garden created by Edith Roosevelt on the east side of the residence.[2] By 1913, First Lady Ellen Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson, initiated a major reconfiguration of the site, razing Edith Roosevelt's colonial garden to make way for the inaugural iteration of the Rose Garden.[1] Working with landscape architect George Burnap, she specified a structured layout emphasizing roses as the focal point, incorporating elevated planting beds for hybrid tea roses enclosed by low privet hedges, gravel walkways for access, and a formal allée of clipped hedges terminating at a western lattice wall designed to support the display of sculptures or paintings.[2] This arrangement represented the first dedicated open-air rose garden in the location, shifting from eclectic floral displays to a more monochromatic, rose-centric horticultural scheme intended for both aesthetic and ceremonial purposes.[1] Ellen Wilson's project concluded shortly before her death in August 1914, after which the garden endured with minimal alterations until later administrations.[2]Jacqueline Kennedy's 1962 Redesign
In early 1962, President John F. Kennedy, inspired by formal gardens observed during a 1961 state visit to Europe, commissioned a redesign of the White House Rose Garden to create a versatile space for official ceremonies accommodating up to 1,000 guests adjacent to the Oval Office.[3] First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who had developed a close friendship with horticulturist Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, facilitated the involvement of Mellon as the primary designer, collaborating with landscape architect Perry Wheeler.[1] Construction commenced in spring 1962 under the supervision of the National Park Service and White House head horticulturist Irvin Williams, with the project completed by year's end.[3] The redesign introduced a symmetrical, geometric layout emphasizing functionality and elegance, featuring a central rectangular lawn measuring 50 by 100 feet to serve as an open venue for events.[3] Flanking the lawn were 12-foot-wide borders divided into sectional plantings for visual structure and seasonal interest.[3] Architectural modifications included reconfiguring the west-end steps into a raised platform for speakers and dignitaries, while the east end retained a flagstone terrace beneath an existing Magnolia grandiflora.[3] During excavation, workers uncovered a buried military alert cable from World War II, which was carefully relocated to preserve operational integrity.[3] Plant selections prioritized hardy, ornamental species suited to formal display and privacy screening, with Mellon emphasizing evergreens and flowering trees for year-round appeal.[3] Four Magnolia soulangeana (saucer magnolias) were transplanted to the corners from the Tidal Basin, providing spring blooms and framing the space.[3] Each border incorporated five 'Katherine' crabapple trees (Malus spp.), alongside hybrid tea roses such as 'Queen Elizabeth' and 'President Herbert Hoover', interspersed with perennials like tulips and geraniums, annuals, and herbs for dynamic color changes.[3] Hawthorns and American hollies (Ilex opaca) lined the perimeter for enclosure and wind protection, establishing the garden's enduring character as a refined extension of the West Wing.[3]Design and Horticulture
Layout and Architectural Features
The White House Rose Garden occupies a rectangular space adjacent to the West Wing, measuring roughly 125 feet in length and 60 feet in width, positioned between the Oval Office and the main residence.[1] Its layout, formalized in the 1962 redesign by landscape architect Perry Wheeler, centers on a symmetrical central lawn bordered by planting beds and structured hedges.[3] Four parallel rows of clipped privet hedges, approximately four feet tall, extend the full length of the garden, creating defined channels for herbaceous borders and rose plantings while enclosing the space.[3] Architecturally, the garden is framed to the east by the ivy-draped West Colonnade, a series of columns linking the Oval Office to the residence and providing a classical backdrop.[1] A prominent semicircular white bench, situated beneath southern magnolia trees, faces the Oval Office window, serving as a focal point for seating and contemplation.[3] Gravel paths and low borders facilitate pedestrian access along the edges and between beds, emphasizing orderly rows over meandering routes in a French formal style adapted for American planting.[4] The central lawn, designed to accommodate up to 1,000 guests for events, historically featured grass surfaces, though the 2025 renovation under the Trump administration replaced it with diagonal paving stones and enhanced drainage systems to support increased hardscape use.[6][7] This configuration maintains the garden's geometric precision while adapting to modern functional demands, bounded on the north and south by West Wing extensions.[8]Plant Selection and Maintenance Practices
Plant selection in the White House Rose Garden prioritizes hybrid tea and shrub roses valued for their form, fragrance, and suitability to formal garden aesthetics, with an emphasis on varieties in pale pinks, yellows, and whites to avoid visual heaviness; red roses are segregated to dedicated areas.[9] Key rose cultivars include 'Peace' (hybrid tea, pale pink and yellow), 'John F. Kennedy' (hybrid tea, white), 'Pat Nixon' (hybrid tea, peach), 'Iceberg' (floribunda, white), 'Queen Elizabeth' (grandiflora, pink), 'Pascali' (hybrid tea, white), 'King's Ransom' (hybrid tea, yellow), and 'Nevada' (shrub, white).[9][10] Complementary plantings feature shade-tolerant perennials such as Alchemilla mollis, Aquilegia canadensis, and Hosta sieboldiana, alongside annuals like Ageratum 'North Sea' for seasonal color rotation three times yearly—spring, summer, and fall—to sustain vibrancy.[9] Shrubs including boxwood (Buxus sempervirens, blight-resistant strains) and hedges like osmanthus provide structure, while trees such as saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) and crabapples (Malus 'Katherine') frame the beds.[9]| Rose Variety | Type | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Peace | Hybrid Tea | Pale Pink/Yellow |
| John F. Kennedy | Hybrid Tea | White |
| Pat Nixon | Hybrid Tea | Peach |
| Iceberg | Floribunda | White |
| Queen Elizabeth | Grandiflora | Pink |
| Pascali | Hybrid Tea | White |
| King's Ransom | Hybrid Tea | Yellow |
| Nevada | Shrub | White |