President Trump has been redesigning the renowned Rose Garden, which is almost finished, as part of his renovations since he returned to the White House in January.
Trump converted the Rose Garden’s lawn into a patio by replacing the grass with stone. Additionally, the terrace is quite similar to a well-liked feature at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to Trump, the grass became too wet for elegant shoes, so it had to be removed.
“You see the women?” Trump stated in an interview with The Spectator magazine in February. “There was moisture on the grass. They have their heels digging about four inches into the grass.
Stiletto wearers no longer have to be concerned about sinking. Paving stones were installed diagonally in place of the lawn as part of the $1.9 million makeover. Stars and Stripes-themed white grates cover new drainage systems that have been erected around the perimeter.
The tint of the stone is identical to that of the White House. Additionally, it will reflect the heat due to its extreme whiteness. Trump recently clarified, “It won’t be very hot, like if you had a dark stone.”
The project is Trump’s most recent change to the White House. He intends to construct a new ballroom worth $200 million, and the Oval Office has been completely gilded.
The Kennedys revamped the Rose Garden
The Rose Garden was created during the Kennedy era and features a sizable lawn in the middle surrounded by flower beds. Prior to it, it was less of an event venue and more of a simple garden.
“President Kennedy wanted an outdoor room,” White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin stated. “He wanted a space where you could have outdoor meetings, receptions, events.”
To renovate the garden, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy collaborated with their friend and renowned gardener Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon. Numerous rose bushes and huge magnolia trees were part of the arrangement.
A nonprofit called the Trust for the National Mall claims that the roses have suffered from inadequate drainage and a lack of sunlight over the years. When first lady Melania Trump oversaw a significant restoration project in 2020 to bring it back to the Kennedy/Mellon concept, only 12 of the original rose bushes were left.
The first lady planted 200 fresh roses and formal boxwood parterre borders with perennial and annual plantings, which were made possible by private donations to the Trust. A new stone border around the edge was criticized for being excessively bleak. However, now that the plants have grown, the garden is lively once more.
A space for press conferences and signing ceremonies
The Rose Garden has played host to innumerable signing ceremonies and news briefings over the years. It even provided a backdrop for a photo opportunity during Trump’s first term, when 11-year-old Frank Giaccio set out to mow the White House grass, and Trump fulfilled his ambition. The pictures went viral.
The flowers are here to stay, even though the turf is gone. They just took out the grass. Private donations to the Trust for the National Mall are also helping to pay for this effort. This time, the motivation came from Trump rather than the first lady.
Trump tested a new speaker system for the patio earlier this week, and music erupted from the White House. The same way Trump did at Mar-a-Lago, he can DJ from his iPad. In keeping with the Beach Club at Mar-a-Lago, the Rose Garden also has patio tables with umbrellas that are striped in yellow and white.
White House Friday is gorgeous!Let It Be is being played by President @realDonaldTrump on speakerspic.twitter.com/ir06l7Hj6c.
McLaurin admitted that this shift might be startling. However, he argued that many of the White House’s first controversial changes—such as the West Wing, the Colonnade, and the North and South Porticos—later came to be seen as necessary components of the People’s House.
McLaurin asserted, “It’s not frozen in time,” “It changes and evolves. Additionally, the opinions of many presidents and first ladies vary.
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