You’ve seen it on the news a thousand times. A president stands behind a mahogany lectern, the sun glinting off the White House colonnade, and a backdrop of perfectly manicured flowers frames the shot. It’s the Rose Garden. It’s arguably the most famous patch of dirt in the United States. But if you ask a passerby who actually planted the Rose Garden at the White House, you’ll get a handful of different names—and honestly, most of them are right.
History is rarely a straight line. It’s more of a trellis. The garden we see today isn't the work of one person or one afternoon of digging. It’s the result of over a century of First Ladies, landscape architects, and even a secret midnight tree heist.
The Woman Who Started It All: Ellen Wilson
Before 1913, the West Wing wasn't flanked by roses. It was actually home to a "colonial garden" installed by Edith Roosevelt. It was nice, sure, but it wasn't the Rose Garden.
Ellen Axson Wilson changed that. She was Woodrow Wilson’s first wife, and she wasn’t just a political spouse; she was a trained landscape painter. She had a real eye for composition. In 1913, she replaced the old colonial beds with a proper Rose Garden. She worked with a guy named George Burnap to create something that felt like a Beaux-Arts masterpiece.
She even called the long walkway the "President’s Walk." She wanted the president to have a beautiful, dignified path when walking from the residence to the West Wing. It’s a bit tragic, though. Ellen passed away just a year later from Bright's disease. While the garden has been dug up and moved and changed, her original decision to dedicate this specific space to roses is why we call it what we do today.
The Camelot Transformation: Bunny Mellon and JFK
Fast forward to 1961. John F. Kennedy returns from a state visit to Europe. He’s seen the gardens at Versailles. He’s walked the grounds of English estates. He comes home, looks out the window of the Oval Office, and basically thinks, "This looks like a mess."
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At the time, the garden was described as a "nondescript patch of hedge-rowed lawn." It wasn't the stage for world leaders it is now. Kennedy turned to a close family friend: Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon.
Bunny was a legend, but she wasn't a "professional" in the way we think of it today. She was a self-taught horticulturalist with a massive bank account and even bigger ideas. Kennedy told her he wanted a garden that could hold 1,000 people for ceremonies but still feel like a private sanctuary.
The Midnight Tree Heist
Here is a bit of trivia most people miss. Bunny wanted four large saucer magnolias to anchor the corners of the lawn. The problem? The National Park Service (NPS) was being a bit of a stickler about moving trees from the Tidal Basin.
So, what happened? The White House Head Gardener, Irvin Williams, took matters into his own hands. Under the cover of night, he and his crew literally went out, dug up the trees, and hauled them to the White House before anyone could stop them. If you see those massive, twisted magnolias today, you’re looking at the survivors of a 1960s botanical commando mission.
Bunny’s design—with the central lawn and the 12-foot-wide borders—became the "gold standard." For nearly 60 years, that was the Rose Garden. She mixed French formal styles with American plants like crabapples and boxwoods. It was elegant. It was timeless.
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The 2020 Controversy: Melania Trump’s Redesign
You can’t talk about who planted the Rose Garden without mentioning the 2020 renovation. It sparked a literal "War of the Roses" on social media. Melania Trump worked with landscape firms Perry Guillot and Oehme, van Sweden to "restore" the garden to its 1962 footprint, but the changes were stark.
They removed the iconic crabapple trees. That was the biggest point of contention. People were furious. However, the gardeners argued the trees were casting too much shade, which was actually killing the roses. They also added limestone walkways around the perimeter.
Why the stone? Honestly, it was practical. If you've ever tried to walk across a soggy lawn in four-inch heels—which First Ladies and female reporters do often—you know it's a disaster. The grass was also taking a beating from television camera crews.
- The 2020 Stats: They went from only 12 struggling rose bushes to over 250.
- The Varieties: They planted JFK roses (white), Peace roses, and even a Pope John Paul II rose.
- The Layout: They kept Bunny Mellon’s diamond-shaped boxwood pattern but used a blight-resistant variety called 'NewGen Independence.'
The "Presidential Patio" of 2025
As of mid-2025, the garden has seen even more changes. There was a recent push to pave over even more of the grass to create a more stable surface for press conferences—essentially turning a portion of it into a "presidential patio."
Critics say it’s losing its soul, while the administration argues it’s about modernizing a workspace that has to host hundreds of people and heavy equipment every week. It’s the eternal struggle of the White House: is it a museum or a home?
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What You Can Learn for Your Own Garden
You probably don't have a Secret Service detail or a National Park Service budget, but the Rose Garden’s history offers some pretty solid advice for any gardener.
- Drainage is everything. One of the main reasons for the 2020 overhaul wasn't aesthetics; it was a failing 60-year-old drainage system. If your plants are dying, look under the dirt first.
- Native-ish works best. Bunny Mellon won by using American species that could handle the swampy, humid heat of a D.C. summer.
- Don't be afraid to prune. The removal of the crabapples was a PR nightmare, but it saved the roses. Sometimes you have to lose a "landmark" plant to save the rest of the ecosystem.
- Accessibility matters. Adding those limestone paths made the garden ADA-compliant. If you're designing a garden for the long haul, think about how you’ll navigate it when you’re older or if you have guests with mobility issues.
The White House Rose Garden isn't just one person's project. It’s a living document. From Ellen Wilson’s first petals in 1913 to the latest concrete and gold-leaf additions in 2025/2026, it reflects the tastes and the practical needs of whoever is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the time.
If you're planning a visit, check the White House website for the "Spring Garden Tour" dates. It’s one of the few times a year they let the public actually walk the paths that Ellen, Bunny, and Melania built.
To dig deeper into the specific types of flowers used in the most recent planting, look up the "JFK Rose" or the "Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora"—both are hardy survivors that have defined the garden for decades.