Jacqueline Kennedy Garden
Encyclopedia
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
south of the East Colonnade. The garden balances the Rose Garden
White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide...
on the west side of the White House Complex
White House Complex
The White House Complex is the designation of the three principal structures and the adjoining outdoor ceremonial areas, which, along with the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, serve as the seat of the executive branch of United States government...
.
History
Edith Carrow RooseveltEdith Roosevelt
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt was the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1901 to 1909.-Early life:...
who had established her "Colonial Garden" on the site of the present Rose Garden oversaw a similar but less formal planting on the east side, the site of the present Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. The garden as it is presently known was begun in 1913 by First Lady Ellen Louise Axson Wilson. She termed it the East Garden. Mrs. Wilson's design featured a central lily pond. Following her death in 1914, the garden was completed(36 meters by 19 meters)
Care of the White House grounds had greatly declined by the time of the Kennedy administration, prompting First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to work with Rachel Lambert Mellon and Perry Wheeler on the redesign and replanting of the Rose Garden and East Garden. By the time of President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the Rose Garden had been completed and work on the East Garden was in progress. To honor Jacqueline Kennedy's contributions to the White House and its grounds First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
renamed the East Garden as the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.
Design and horticulture
Rachel Lambert MellonRachel Lambert Mellon
Rachel "Bunny" Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon is an American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, fine arts collector, member of the International Best Dressed List, and widow of philanthropist, art collector, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and banking heir Paul Mellon.-Background:Known...
created a space with a more defined central lawn, bordered by flower beds planted in a French style, but largely using American botanical specimens. Though more formal than the previous East Garden, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden pays tribute to Beatrix Farrand's work in its use of a more organic structure, planting masses of the same plants in drifts, and use of foliage plants like ornamental grasses and caladiums.
The present garden follows a layout established by Mellon. Each flower bed is planted with a series of Littleleaf lindens and Kennedy saucer magnolias bordered by low hedges of boxwood and American Holly. The outer edge of the flower bed facing the central lawn are edged with boxwood. Perennial flowering plants include delphinium, hollyhock, lavender, and roses. Many seasonal flowers are interspersed to add nearly year round color. Spring blooming bulbs planted in the rose garden include jonquil, daffodil, fritillaria, grape hyacinth, tulips, chionodoxa and squill. Summer blooming annuals change yearly. In the fall chrysanthemum and flowering kale bring color until early winter.
Official and informal use
Like the Rose Garden, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is used for events. The president uses the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden for awards ceremonies. Both Lady Bird JohnsonLady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
and Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...
favored use of the garden for parties and teas. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
exhibited contemporary sculpture in the garden.
Further reading
- The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.
- Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
- Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 0-684-85799-5.
- Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
- McEwan, Barbara. "White House Landscapes." Walker and Company: 1992. ISBN 0-8027-1192-8.
- Mellon, Rachel Lambert. The White House Gardens Concepts and Design of the Rose Garden. Great American Editions Ltd.: 1973.
- Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
- Seale, William. The White House Garden. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1996. ISBN 0-912308-69-9.