The White House Rose Garden "renovation" - removed trees, installed concrete

[Dennis Donovan]

Last edited Sat Aug 22, 2020, 02:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC

Before and after photographs of newly renovated White House Rose Garden:
courtesy #Getty and @marycjordan



10:10 AM · Aug 22, 2020

[soothsayer]

1. Jeezus

[dewsgirl]

2. K and R😞

[C_U_L8R]

3. Renovation? That's more like deforestation.

What an ugly shame. The Trumps have no class or taste.

[abakan]

54. This is criminal

The only thing I have that sort of, keeps me sane, is a mantra of, "no matter what he does, it can be undone."
And for those who want to find fault. I know not everything can be undone but petty stupid things like this can.

[2naSalit]

4. That's criminal!

Never remove trees!

[malaise]

52. You chose the correct word

[2naSalit]

117. Looks like the netrance to a funeral facility...

It used to look like an actual garden. It has occurred to me that these assholes have no affection for anything natural... what with all their reconstructed faces and features and botox, it figures.

[Mike 03]

5. Trumps despise living things.

Just ask Don Jr.

[PatSeg]

6. But where's the gold?

[dalton99a]

7. It's fucking vandalism.

[Docreed2003]

8. Why would you need a sidewalk there?

The colonnade is the only connection you need from the west wing...a sidewalk looks atrocious there.

[dalton99a]

16. Exactly.

[JHB]

19. Melania's high heels

She ought to be able to look at it (and be photographed in front of it) from any angle without her precious shoes sinking into the dirt.

[dalton99a]

22. All that destruction to please the Slovenian sex worker

[JHB]

27. It's the destruction that pleases her.

[Docreed2003]

38. You may be spot on, lol

[highplainsdem]

86. Melania's high heels, and Donald's unsteady waddle.

[Sanity Claws]

23. They needed it for the concrete to bury bodies, etc.

[underpants]

48. Because the covered sidewalk is like 10 feet from there

Yeah. They took out color and made it bland.

[fierywoman]

81. ...in the "style" of her Xmas decorations.

[nolabear]

110. "White" is the word you're looking for.

[Sinistrous]

9. Abominable!!!!!

[progressive nobody]

10. Won't that stir the anger of Abigail Adams' Ghost?

[Sanity Claws]

26. Let the haunting begin!

or continue!

[JHB]

71. We can only hope.

[NCjack]

11. Malaria's renovation is ugly. Please, Jill, restore the Rose Garden.

[Ferrets are Cool]

12. He kills everything he is around.

[SheltieLover]

13. Omfg!

The russian asset has destroyed yet another aspect of America!

[Siwsan]

14. Typical sterile aesthetics favored by those with absolutely no soul.

[Vinca]

15. Add it to the list of things to be fixed when the bloated orange maggot is gone.

[Wounded Bear]

17. Paved paradise and put up a parking lot...

[Totally Tunsie]

95. Exactly my thought!

That's the first thing that came to mind.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. ...

[LakeArenal]

20. Will he allow drilling out front?

[RestoreAmerica2020]

21. No words just lagrimas. What can we expect from evil who cages children, rips babies from

..their mamitas arms; y el diablo in WH is still separating children from their parents. Evil is evil.


]Lagrimas: tears
Mal: evil, bad, sick
Mamitias-mothers
El diablo: devil, evil person]

[JHB]

24. Melania: "There! Now it's a proper runway. No obstructions."

"And I don't have to change out of my high-heels for those tiresome photo ops."

[Me.]

29. I Thought Runway Too

Instead of an escalator

[Mr.Bill]

62. Melania didn't do her "modeling" on a runway.

She did it on a mattress.

[JHB]

65. She's like her husband that way...

There's how they see themselves, and there's what they are.

Two things that are nowhere near each other.

[OMGWTF]

68. It's an old joke by now, but Melania got here on a Epstein visa not an Einstein visa.

[Mr.Bill]

77. That's great.

First time I've heard it.

[fierywoman]

84. But new to me! Funny! Thanks.

[Polly Hennessey]

25. They take away beauty

and install ugliness. The tRumpians are worthless, ugly creatures in all that they do. No matter how much plastic surgery, tanning booths, stiletto heels they hope will disguise their utter ugliness, it won’t. Melanie has the class of a cess pool.

[demmiblue]

28. The crab apple trees were beautiful.

Boo, hiss!

[OMGWTF]

69. They were cherry blossom trees for which Washington, DC is famous.

[JHB]

75. No, see my post #42 below. They were crababpples.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213950873#post42

The blooming trees in that photo are 'Katherine' crabapples.

The famous cherry blossom trees are near the Jefferson Memorial, not on WH grounds.

[demmiblue]

79. No, they were crabapple trees. n/t

[Me.]

30. Please Jill Biden

Put it back

[Freethinker65]

31. Melania's Stilettos get stuck in soil?

[JHB]

40. That was my take.

[Raine]

123. I read it's to make it more accessible to those with disabilities. nt

[XanaDUer2]

32. Doesnt that garden belong to we the people?

Jackie K O would roll in her grave seeing that hot mess. I'm disgusted

[SiliconValley_Dem]

33. paved paradise and put in a plain sidewalk

[underpants]

47. 👏

You beat me to it.

[The Genealogist]

34. I guess we should be lucky Melanie didn't install one of her Nightmare Before Christmas themes here

[eppur_se_muova]

35. Cherry trees ? Hmmmm ...

No mention of cherry trees in the Rose Garden by the National Park Service, so at least they apparently avoided an international embarrassment (this time).

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/cherryblossom/history-of-the-cherry-trees.htm

May they be haunted by the ghost of George Washington.

[Zoonart]

36. FRom my husband the horticulturalist:

This original garden was planned for four season bloom/color and interest. Now, looks like it is all annuals.
Will be an unruly and brown mess in spring and fall.

[catrose]

56. And cost more money to replant 4 times a year

I’m not sure if you those cherry blossoms were part that f the Japanese gift (or if any in DC are now) but cherry blossoms are so iconic for DC & peace among nations. I see why she’d want to get rid of that reminder.

[Johnny2X2X]

37. If Obama has done this

They would have lost their minds!

[edhopper]

39. Those trees were a gift from Japan

How completely destructive can they be?

[JHB]

42. The OP has it wrong, those are crababpple trees

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Rose_Garden

In 1961, during the John F. Kennedy administration, the garden was largely redesigned by Rachel Lambert Mellon[2] concurrently with extensive repair work to the East Garden. Mellon created a space with a more defined central lawn, bordered by flower beds that were planted in a French style whilst largely using American botanical specimens. The present-day garden follows the same layout first established by Mellon, where each flower bed is planted with a series of 'Katherine' crabapples and Littleleaf lindens bordered by low diamond-shaped hedges of thyme. Additionally, the outer edges to the flower bed which face the central lawn are edged with boxwood, and each of the four corners to the garden are punctuated by Magnolia × soulangeana; specifically, obtaining specimens that were found growing along the banks of the Tidal Basin by Mellon.

The cherry trees gifted by Japan are along the Basin by the Jefferson Memorial.

[edhopper]

43. Thanks for clarifying

though it still is an awful "renovation".

[JHB]

45. Yep. They took a flower garden and turned it into office-park landscaping.

[underpants]

51. I wonder were the access points to the tunnel are

Melanie not taking any chances on Clustertrump pulling off another election miracle.

Between this and the tennis pavilion you know she’s got an “out” built in somewhere.

[JHB]

59. Turns out Ivanka designed a totally original system for secret exits

[DeminPennswoods]

60. Had those crabapple trees in our yard

They looked pretty in the spring with the blossoms, but otherwise didn't like them and ultimately had them removed.

[csziggy]

72. Were the crabapple trees in the 'before' pic those original trees?

If they were, sixty year old trees were removed for this renovation.

While I am not happy that they are gone I found this:

Crabapple trees have a lifespan of 30 to 70 years, depending on individual climate, care and disease conditions. Grafted onto standard apple rootstock they give abundant fruit for 30 years or more. Sparse foliage is an indication that the tree is in decline. Diseases that may limit crabapple tree life include fire blight, rust, powdery mildew and chlorosis. Tree borers also limit life span but are prevented with adequate but not excessive watering and good care.
https://www.gardenguides.com/131272-lifespan-flowering-crabapple-trees.html

If the trees were reaching the end of their life span, maybe an arborist advise that they should be removed. I would like to see that report, if any exists.

[JHB]

83. Not nesessarily...

Per the quoted sections,

"The present-day garden follows the same layout first established by Mellon..."

I take that to mean there have been some updates and changes over the years, which can easily include replacement of plants, but until Melania and her office-park landscaping, it pretty much followed the 1961 redesign that became known as the 'Rose Garden'.

[csziggy]

99. Well, planting trees is best done in the winter so new crabapples could be planted in January

As soon as a President with taste moves in. Plus, the concrete could be ripped out and sod put in to quickly return the view to the original.

I wonder how much of the difference inside the beds is from a change of seasons?

Most of my thoughts on this are inspired by the landscaping I am planning for my own yard. We just finished an addition and with all the construction, the front and side yards were destroyed. Even where I had grass well established and did not have to disturb the ground for foundations, piles of materials and the dumpsters killed off large patches.

Last week it was a mess. Last Sunday we laid out where the planting beds will be and Tuesday they put down sod. The difference in three hours was amazing. Now that the planting beds are ready, with fresh topsoil brought in, I want to plant stuff, but August in Florida is a terrible time for planting.

I've spent much of the last week making lists of mostly native plants I want to put in, figuring out the layouts of where they will go, and making a chart of what time of year to plant them. Since I mostly want plants that will encourage birds, bees, and butterflies, I'm trying to make sure they will have food for as many season as possible.

Each flowering plant has a season for their blooms and a well planned garden will have sucessions of blooms across the season. If the first picture in the OP was taken in late spring, early summer, that could have been the peak of the bloom (crabapples bloom in spring here, maybe a little later in Washington DC). While the garden was planned for four season blooms (in winter in DC?) for a lot of flowering plants the best time to prune is late summer ( I am not sure about roses since I am allergic to their scent).

[JHB]

100. Remember what sort of people were involved here

The whole thing might have to get dug up just to sweep for spying devices.

[csziggy]

105. See my other post - it was done as a backdrop for Melania's RNC speech

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213950873#post101

[JHB]

106. Does not negate what I said.

[Dennis Donovan]

111. oops

n/t

[Progressive dog]

41. Concrete says tasteful garden and friendship to the Trumps.

Ready mix concrete from Trump's mafia pals especially.
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a33350476/fear-city-new-york-mafia-donald-trump-tower-mob-ties-explained/

[intheflow]

53. Now you got me wondering...

What body is hiding beneath that concrete? Or is it the original Constitution?

[FraDon]

44. I was expecting to see

some ROSES in the Rose Garden. Silly me.

[csziggy]

101. There are still roses there - the pic in the OP Twitter message is misleading

First lady Melania Trump unveils White House Rose Garden restorations ahead of RNC

By Kate Bennett, CNN
Updated 12:24 PM ET, Sat August 22, 2020

A view of the recently renovated Rose Garden at the White House on August 22, 2020, in Washington, DC.

(CNN)First lady Melania Trump on Saturday unveiled the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, an iconic space that she will use as a backdrop for her upcoming speech to the Republican National Convention.

The Rose Garden has been under construction since late last month, when the first lady announced she was spearheading an overhaul to the space to include updates to the technological elements of the space, as well as the redesign of the plantings and the placement of new limestone walkways. Since construction began, the garden -- used more frequently in the Covid-19 era to hold news conferences as it allows White House staff, journalists and guests to more safely socially distance -- has been out of sight from staff and members of the press.



The restoration resembles the original design and formation of the Rose Garden, established by President John F. Kennedy, and implemented in 1962 by horticulturist and philanthropist Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The garden had not undergone a comprehensive refresh since then.

<SNIP>

One of the first lady's stated goals for the renovation was to "fulfill the dynamic needs of the modern presidency," so part of the updated design includes modern features for audio and visual capabilities, as well as lighting and access for television cameras.

More: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/politics/melania-trump-rose-garden-restoration/index.html

In the second picture, you can see roses where the tulips and hyacinths were in the original plan:

Catherine crabapple trees in bloom, bordered by tulips, primrose and grape hyacinth. The West Colonnade, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Thomas Jefferson, can be seen in the background.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Rose_Garden

Problem is that packing the beds with roses limits the periods of blooms so it will look somewhat barren for much of the year.

I'd bet the sidewalks are for Melania to stalk along during her RNC Convention speech.

[chowder66]

46. How else are they going to plant the listening devices and spy cameras?

[procon]

49. Don't any changes to the WH property have to

pass through some sort of historical preservation review? The whole complex is a protected historical site under the jurisdiction of the US park service.

[highplainsdem]

50. So drab by comparison with what it was that the renovation is hideous.

The woman has absolutely no taste.

But we know that already from her clothing, and from the grotesque White House decor she's sometimes inflicted on the nation.

Not to mention her choice of sugar daddy/spouse.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

55. They should landscape with plants native to each U.S. state

For example, the state capitol of Nevada in Carson City is landscaped with trees and plants that are native to Nevada:

[Hekate]

74. Each state has a different climate, sometimes radically so.

Whatever specimen plantings they had before were chosen judiciously, which is why it looked so beautiful.

[judesedit]

57. OMG! It's horrible. Very sad. Now so cold and unwelcoming. Just like them.

Did I mention boring? Another family trait.

[spinbaby]

58. This sums it up

Link to tweet

?s=21

[bringthePaine]

61. trumperfection - no damn roses, no damn garden, what's the problem?...

[whistler162]

63. The Trump Family motto

Quod non est scissum est nobis idcirco frangendum est

It Wasn't Broken So We Shall Break It

[OMGWTF]

64. As a long-time member of the Arbor Day Foundation -- this SUCKS!

I cannot wait until that orange criminal shitstain and his whore are gone from OUR White House.

[NurseJackie]

66. Are they going for some sort of plantation-look? Or hotel courtyard?

[Hekate]

78. Hotel courtyard

Why? Just — why.

[NurseJackie]

116. Zero taste. Zero class. They are the "Baroque Bordello" type of tacky.

[grobertj]

67. Why not go all the way....

replace the sod with asphalt. Then Trump would really feel at home.

[a kennedy]

70. and they'll be fawning all over it tonight at 7:00ET.

[Botany]

73. I'm willing to bet those cherry trees were gifts from a foreign country

They also gave structure to the West Wing Colonnade too. She also removed some of the roses and
really nice and old yew bushes too.

[Kali]

118. article said they were crabapple

but yeah, hate to see trees removed

and the sod? I could do a better job and I live in the desert with no water

[Botany]

121. I really am a professional @ this stuff and I thought..

.. they were cherries but irregardless they replaced good stuff such as the trees, yew bushes, and some nice roses with crap. And the new concrete sidewalk replacing some of the turf around the border of the garden


BTW August in D.C. is not the time to work on lawns and sod socks... you always better off by seeding.

And to do all this work when they are going to be gone shortly is one more fuck you to America.

[Kali]

122. I really hate to ever be in a position to defend them but

most of the work was done to upgrade infrastructure and you know she didn't have any say or interest in any of it, other than a few photos ops and taking credit. the walks are stone and may be addressing some ADA issues. I don't like trees being handled like that, but most of the rest of it is pretty easily changed when we get rid of these grifters.

[Botany]

124. If they had planted some nice American Dogwoods ..

... (Appalachian Spring Series), Redbuds, American Witch Hazel, Yellow Wood, Black Haw Viburnum, and blight resistant crabs fine but this looks like work from Joe's lawn service and landscaping.

And the turf border on the outside edge of the garden was fine. A concrete sidewalk????

[Kali]

125. it does have a Guys Lawn Service look to it, hopefull JOE will fix it next spring LOL

I think the walk is stone, though (husband is a stone mason, so that is what my eye spotted )

[Botany]

126. Guy's Lawn Service

grass cutting
Beds edged and mulched
Annuals
Xmas lights
Landscape design
Retaining walls
Gutters cleaned too

BTW not to denigrate hardworking people who do whatever it takes to pay the bills but this the White House for God's sake. For 20 + years I took care of the grounds of a historic episcopal church (1804) and it was an honor and I always had the bigger picture in the back of my mind. (It was an honor) But to do such 3rd rate tacky shit @ the White House is just crazy.

Where is the goose ot the stick whose wings "flap" with the wind?

[Kali]

127. or those bent over geezer ass cutouts?

I hear ya, both my sons have done landscaping, a common way for somebody to get started moving up in the world. and real work is a GOOD thing.

[amb123]

76. From fertility to sterility.

No class. No imagination. No Soul.

[BannonsLiver]

80. Build Back Better

I’ll look forward to this shit being torn out and replaced the way it was before.

[Botany]

93. No matter how much money you have you can't buy time.

Those cherry trees were @ least 25 years old. And they might date back to Jackie Kennedy's* work on the
rose garden but they look a little too small for that.

Melanie just fucked up years and years of work.

They along with the columns also gave the walkway really neat sun and shadow patterns.

And all this when they will be gone in months.


* Jackie had real experts in helping her with that project.

[Garion_55]

82. They got rid of the color

That's typical of right wingers

[Snake Plissken]

85. They did the nostalgic Soviet Block motif to please Putin

[RVN VET71]

87. Were the trees diseased?

We know all too well that the denizens in the WH are diseased, but it is possible that the trees were as well. Otherwise, what was the reason for their removal? Just a desire to unbeautify?

[bdamomma]

88. Such bastards they are

First Lady Jill will replant.

[AllyCat]

89. I think the tRump crime family destroys any natural thing bigger than them

And that is everything in nature: trees, people, giraffes and elephants. Everything

[The Wielding Truth]

90. The trees were probably ready to be replaced, but the cement? As long as Putin likes it.

[JDC]

91. Wow. What a shitty result. I'm surprised they didn't put some chain link in

These people are trash.

[louis-t]

92. Boy, there's money well spent.

Who needs all those gorgeous flowers, anyway? Looks like something Morticia Addams would come up with.

[xmas74]

104. Morticia had a healthy respect for history.

She also liked the thorny stems on roses.

She most definitely would not be on board, especially with the sidewalk.

[George II]

94. Unbefuckinglievable! When are they going to paint the White House gold and put a stripper pole...

....in the Oval Office?

[KPN]

96. I can't tell from the pic. Are there any roses left?

[catchnrelease]

97. I don't buy it

C'mon, do you really think Melania has any interest whatsoever in the gardens at the WH? Or any other kind of plants for that matter. I think someone had the idea to do this project and stick her name on it, I guess so it looks like she's there and is doing something. I have no idea why it was necessary to do this (it wasn't) but I'd bet she had nothing to do with it. It's a pr stunt.

[ms liberty]

98. It's a stage set for him to campaign from

It may be for something so simple as just to make it easier for camera people to film him walking down the colonnade, looking presidential. I note that the beautiful crabapple trees would impair that visual, and also none of those colors work for his hair and skin tone.

[demmiblue]

103. Apparently, Melanie is going to give a speech in the Rose Garden:

Link to tweet

(There is some shade in that tweet )

[Crunchy Frog]

102. At least this is pretty easily fixable. As long as we beat Trump in November. n/t

[mercuryblues]

107. I think Melanie has a different reason for removing the trees

What a great view of the portico. No trees blocking the way. I wonder if she had oleander planted in there?

[haele]

108. The lawn looks like shit. They replaced the existing flower bed with an "easy maintenance" bed.

Looks like the easy maintenance "Curb Appeal Rose Garden and flowerbed - We design and deliver!" catelog picture from Home Depot or Lowes. And from the burn holes in the lawn, looks as if it had been poorly re-sodded with a cheap Fescue mix.
It's obvious. The administration decided to cheap out and cut the grounds staff.
The original bulb and annuals shade bed with the crab apples require a gardener every couple days. This arrangement only requires a "gardener"/ lawn guy twice a month and a halfway decent automatic watering system.

The flat poured cement walkway without side drainage is just more proof no one did any sort of homework. In fact, those cheap Armstrong Nursery roses are too close to the house for proper drainage; I see rose rust and all sorts of fungi appearing over the next couple years, it will all need to be ripped out within 5 years if they want to keep it looking professional. A good flowerbed takes planning, soil and grading treatment, quality plants, and regular hard work maintenance.

Y'know, we offered to fix up the landscaping on the house we were renting a decade or so ago and learned about sodding, drainage, and proper flowerbed maintenance pretty quickly and fairly easily. It still took over a year and a half before it settled into a proper lawn and garden, and it was hard work.

Haele

[Kali]

119. the walk is stone and may ostensibly be to address some ADA issues

other than that yeah...and that sod job

[Yeehah]

109. Fuckers destroy everything they touch

ASSHOLES!

[catbyte]

112. And I thought her Christmas decorations were hideous. This is permanent vandalism.

God, I despise these classless, tasteless squatters.

[bif]

113. Nice job, Melanoma!

[calimary]

114. She got rid of the trees?????

Well, that gets rid of any remaining sympathy I ever had for her.

We NEED our trees! I planted a little Western Red Cedar in our backyard area on Wednesday before Kamala Harris’s speech. In her honor. There’s five new trees there that I planted (or arranged for planting) since we moved in. More to come!

[lunatica]

115. The dark underbelly of the Midas Touch

The Trumps have it.

[Kali]

120. the walks are stone and might be to address some ADA issues

the plant beds are meh, but not THAT bad and the great thing about newish landscaping is the do-over factor. that includes that sod job, but man does that stand out as the worst of it all to me.

I mean it isn't exactly like she actually did anything but pose for a few pictures. I'm pretty sure if it had been one of ours we would be saying it looks great. LOL

[Cha]

128. It will have to be UNinstalled.