White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a rose garden that sits in front of the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House . The garden is about 38 meters long and 18 meters wide. The garden is the counterpart to the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on the east side of the White House Complex .
Design and horticulture
The first Rose Garden was laid out in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson's wife, Ellen Wilson , on the site of a former colonial garden. In 1961, during the tenure of John F. Kennedy , the garden was redesigned by Rachel Lambert Mellon . Mellon created a space with a more defined central lawn bordered by flower beds that were planted in the French style, but mostly with American plants. Today's garden follows a design by Mellon. Each flowerbed is planted with a row of "Katherine" ornamental apple trees and winter linden trees, which are bordered by low, diamond-shaped thyme hedges. The outer edge of the flowerbed on the central lawn is lined with boxwood . The four corners are underlined by tulip magnolias that Mellon found in the Tidal Basin . Roses are the main flowers in the garden and include a large number of Queen Elizabeth roses to hybrid teas " Pascali ", "Pat Nixon" and "King's Ransom". The shrub rose "Nevada" complements the overall impression with a cool white. Lots of seasonal flowers add color for most of the year. For the spring, daffodils , fritillaria , grape hyacinths , tulips , star hyacinths and blue stars are planted. Annual plants that change annually are sown for the summer. In autumn, chrysanthemums and flowering kale bring color to spring.
Official and casual use
The rose garden has been used for events since it was established in the early 20th century. President Wilson used the garden for informal Q&A with the press, and President Hoover began the tradition of receiving prominent citizens here and having them photographed with them. Calvin Coolidge used the garden for the public announcement of political and personnel decisions. President John F. Kennedy received the astronauts of the Mercury program in the rose garden. Many of the President's press conferences were held in the garden, as were White House dinners and ceremonies. President Richard Nixon's daughter , Tricia, married Edward F. Cox in 1971 in the Rose Garden. In recent years, presidential press conferences and state visits have been held in the rose garden. The presidents often invite American Olympians or major league players to the rose garden after victories in their sports. George W. Bush received the 2006 Stanley Cup winner, the Carolina Hurricanes , in the rose garden.
The phrase "Rose Garden strategy" stands for staying in the White House and its grounds instead of traveling across the country. So were z. B. Jimmy Carter's first attempts to end the Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981) a "Rose Garden strategy" because he held most of the meetings with his closest advisers in the White House. On July 25, 1994, the Washington Declaration , the basis for the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty , was signed in the Rose Garden. Donald Trump announced here that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement .
literature
- The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society, 2001, ISBN 0-912308-79-6 .
- James A. Abbott and Elaine M. Rice: Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1998, ISBN 0-442-02532-7 .
- Hillary Rodham Clinton: An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster, 2000, ISBN 0-684-85799-5 .
- Wendell Garrett: Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press, 1995, ISBN 1-55553-222-5 .
- Barbara McEwan: White House Landscapes. Walker and Company, 1992, ISBN 0-8027-1192-8 .
- Rachel Lambert Mellon: The White House Gardens Concepts and Design of the Rose Garden. Great American Editions Ltd., 1973.
- William Seale: The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society, 1986, ISBN 0-912308-28-1 .
- William Seale: The White House Garden. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society, 1996, ISBN 0-912308-69-9 .
Web links
- History of the gardens and grounds of the White House
- Additional images of the Rose Garden in the White House Museum
Coordinates: 38 ° 53 ′ 51.2 " N , 77 ° 2 ′ 13.4" W.