Melania Trump’s garden makeover receives the thumbs down from landscapers everywhere
Last week, Melania Trump unveiled her redesign of The White House’s Rose Garden and the landscaping community’s response has ranged from bewilderment to outrage. Within hours of the seemingly innocuous photos being released from White House HQ, multiple landscaping firms weighed in to brand the results ‘upsetting’, ‘disgraceful’ and ‘tone-deaf’. The pictures quickly went viral, with Twitter users drawing an unfortunate comparison between Trump and Marie Antoinette.
The garden itself is not unpleasant to look at, a tidy and textural geometry of box hedges and soft white planting. So what exactly had Trump done to invite so much hostility, and how can we learn from her mistakes?
1) Add warmth, and colour
Had Trump renovated an empty patch of land and turned it into a tasteful green and white sanctuary, people probably would’ve applauded her elegance. But unfortunately, to realise her vision, she uprooted the cherry trees and cheery tulips installed in that space by Jackie O’s landscaping team back in the early 60s. Replacing such a riot of colour and energy with a restrained palette surprised a lot of people.
The furore is extremely reminiscent of the unveiling of Melania’s Christmas decorations in 2018. Her simple red and white scheme was branded ‘super creepy’, ‘disturbing’ and a manifestation of ‘existential dread.’ Sometimes, in the cases of presidential gardens, and in the case of Christmas, colour is king.
2) Don’t trample all over history
Possibly the biggest crime committed by Melania. When renovating anything, make sure that you are sympathetic to what’s gone before. Especially if what’s gone before happens to be somebody who is consistently voted one of the most stylish women of all time, and who happened to be the wife of one of the most beloved presidents of all time.
If Trump had left a nod to Jackie O’s original design, or somehow incorporated the former First Lady’s tulips into her garden, many would’ve found the garden more respectful.
3) Be sensitive to trees
It’s clear that to modern audiences, environmentally friendly messaging is a BIG DEAL. Chopping down trees is probably not the most PR savvy move possible for any public figure.
Of course, if a tree is in the middle of a major revamp, you could consider getting rid, but if your project is a public garden, it might be a good idea to consider whether those trees have a particular emotional resonance for garden users. If it is unavoidable to remove trees, consider whether preservation can take place. Can the trees be moved, or the seeds be harvested as a symbolic gesture of continuity?
4) Paving slabs, big no-no
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” riffed Philadelphia Enquirer columnist Will Bunch, using Joni Mitchell’s words to articulate his horror at the expanses of slabs now streaking across the White House lawns.
In Melania’s defence, she has claimed that much of her redesign sought to increase ‘accessibility’, but perhaps she might’ve softened the edges of her creation by adding some warm wooden walkways.
Melania’s team mentioned that the paths needed to withstand the footfall of a ‘busy White House’ but that could’ve been remedied by using wood-look engineered planking. In this day and age, it’s possible to achieve an organic look without compromising on quality or endurance.
5) Timing
Most landscapers reading this won’t ever have to consider timing in the same way that the Trumps need to. Melania came under fire for unveiling the garden amidst growing discomfort with the American response to COVID-19. New York Times columnist Charles M Blow summarised the feeling on the ground by stating, “if this isn’t a Marie Antoinette moment I don’t know what is”.
So the moral of the story is to pick the timing of your garden reveal carefully.
Conclusion
The First Lady’s Rose Garden is not hideous, let’s be clear. It’s an elegant and restrained design that allows greater access for people of all abilities, but numerous factors led to the garden going viral for all of the wrong reasons.
Trump has been described as being a woman of ‘impeccable taste’ by some quarters, and actually began training as an architect before commencing her modelling career. So with those credentials, perhaps public approval of her garden will grow as the planting reaches maturity.
Time will tell.
