Alexandria Association Lecture Marta McDowell, "All the Presidents' Gardens"

About this event

The White House grounds have mirrored American garden history. Changes to its gardens over time reflect changing fashions in horticulture and design. George Washington employed Pierre Charles L’Enfant who brought a French classical aesthetic to the original site selection. Thomas Jefferson, with the help of architect Benjamin Latrobe, introduced an English romantic sensibility to the South Lawn. In its two-hundred-plus years of history, the White House has had rows of vegetables, extensive glasshouses, Victorian carpet bedding, and styles ranging from Colonial Revival, to Italianate, to the elegant horticultural palette of the Rose Garden.

Because the presidents and first ladies want to show the best that the country has to offer, many luminaries of American garden history shaped the eighteen acres that surround the White House. Beatrix Jones Farrand designed a garden for Mrs. Wilson. Andrew Jackson Downing made recommendations to President Fillmore. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. wrote a landscape plan for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Michael Van Valkenburgh and his firm, MVVA, redesigned the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance between 2002 and 2004. The Rose Garden has seen work by George Burnap for the Wilsons, Rachel Lambert Mellon for the Kennedys and Oehme, van Sweden Associates for the Trumps. The White House is a fashion funnel for many things, including designed landscapes. Come take an entertaining and educational romp through our nation's garden history as seen through the changing grounds at the White House, featuring the Presidents, First Ladies, and their gardeners. Members free, Guests $10